Ex  ICibrtH 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


When  you  leave,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
"  Ever'tbing  comes  t'  bim  wbo  waits 

Except  a  loaned  book.'' 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


SEP  -  %2  1916 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/celebrationofoneOOwalk_0 


1793    =  1893 
Celebration 

OF  THE 

One  Hundredth  Anniversary 

OK  THE 

Laying  of  the  Corner  Stone 


Capitol  of  the  United  States 

With  Accounts  of  the  Laying  of  the  Original  Corner 
Stone,  in  1793,  and  of  the  Corner  Stone 
of  the  Extension,  in  185 1 


General  Duncan  S.  Walker 

Editor  and  Compiler 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
I896 


1/ 


Contents 


Page. 

List  of  Illustrations   5 

Prefatory  Note   7 

Organization  and  Work: 

General  Committee   n 

Subcommittees   12 

Officers  of  the  Parade   18 

The  Joint  Committee   19 

The  Programme: 

Concerts  by  Centennial  Chimes   23 

Route  of  Parade   24 

Exercises  at  the  Capitol   24 

Evening  Concert   25 

Decorations  and  Illumination   26 

Grand  Stands   27 

Street  Decorations   28 

Centennial  Medal   28 

Souvenir  Invitations   28 

The  Tablet   29 

Cost  of  the  Celebration   29 

The  Parade: 

Formation,  Route,  etc   33 

At  the  Capitol: 

The  Invocation   44 

Chairman  Gardner's  Introduction   46 

President  Cleveland's  Address   47 

William  Wirt  Henry's  Oration   4S 

The  Vice-President's  Address   66 

Speaker  Crisp's  Address   73 

Justice  Brown's  Address   74 

Commissioner  Parker's  Address   79 

Night  Concert   86 

The  Joint  Committee: 

Personnel,  Action,  etc   91 

Congressional  Action: 

Authorizing  the  Celebration   101 

Appointment  of  the  Joint  Committee   102 

Making  the  Day  a  Holiday,  Granting  Use  of  Flags,  etc   103 

Resolutions  to  Attend   105 

Attendance  at  the  Celebration   106 

The  Tablet   108 

Printing  the  Proceedings   no 

3 


I 


(  apitol  L  entennial  C  elebratwn 


The  Capitol:  Page. 

With  Some  Notice  ok  Its  Architects   115 

The  First  Corner  Stone: 

A  Brief  Account  from  a  Contemporaneous  .Source   121 

Extension  Corner  Stone: 

The  Programme   127 

The  Procession   130 

Ceremonies  at  the  Capitoe   131 

Corner  Stone  Laid   133 

Address  of  B.  B.  French   134 

Daniee  Webster's  Oration   137 


List  of  Illustrations 

Page. 

Engraving,  Laying  Corner  Stone,  1793;  Capitol,  1S51  and  1893.  .Frontispiece. 


Tympanum,  Senate  Wing,  East  Front   7 

Tympanum,  Main  Building,  East  Front   8 

Bronze  Stairway,  Senate  Wing   11 

Mural  Decoration — Shield   20 

Capitol,  1814.    Half-Tone  from  an  Old  Print   21 

Lamp,  Senate  Wing   26 

Centennial  Medal,  Colored  Print   28 

Seal  of  United  States— Sketch   30 

Parade,  September  18,  1893   33 

Mural  Decoration,  Ladies'  Waiting  Room,  Senate  Wing   36 

Clock,  House  Wing   39 

Centennial  Chorus,  September  18,  1893   43 

Statue  of  Civilization,  East  Front  Main  Building   46 

Ceremonies  at  Capitol  September  iS,  1893 — Half-Tone   47 

Corn  Column,  Ground  Floor,  Main  Building   49 

Tobacco  Column   51 

Acanthus  Column   53 

Fence,  Capitol  Grounds,  Since  Removed   55 

Statue  of  "Peace,"  East  Front,  Main  Building   58 

Statue  of  "War,"  East  Front,  Main  Building   60 

Figure  from  Clock   63 

Sketch  of  Capitol   64 

Capitol,  1893,  North  View,  from  Maltby  House — Half-Tone   66 

Portico,  West  Front,  Before  Construction  of  Terraces   68 

Senate  Clock   70 

Figure  from  Tympanum,  Senate  Wing     72 

Capitol,  1893,  Northeast  View — Half-Tone   73 

Mace,  House  of  Representatives   73 

Statue  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  West  Front   74 

Supreme  Court  Room — Old  Senate  Chamber   77 

Marble  Stairway,  House  Wing,  Interior   So 

Capitol,  1S93,  Northwest  View — Half-Tone   83 

Dome,  from  Pennsylvania  Avenue   84 

Bronze  Statue  of  Freedom,  Dome  of  Capitol   85 

Clock,  Senate  Wing   86 

Naval  Monument,  formerly  West  Front,  now  at  Annapolis   87 

Capitol,  1893,  West  Front — Half-Tone   91 

Corner  of  President's  Room,  Senate  Wing   92 

Speaker's  Desk,  House  of  Representatives   93 

Old  Hall,  House  of  Representatives   95 

Marble  Room,  Senate  Wing   96 


5 


6 


C  apitol  (  entennial  C  'elebration 


Page. 

Capitol,  1893,  Southeast  View — Half-Tone   101 

Columbus  Status,  East  Front,  Main  Building   107 

Tablet  Erected  to  Mark  Corner  Stone — Hale-Tone   ms 

Mural  Decoration   112 

Basement   of  Capitol   114 

Principal  Story  of  Capitol   114 

Attic  Story  of  Capitol   114 

Bronze  Newel  Post,  Ground  Floor,  Senate  Wing   116 

Procession,  September  18,  1793 — half-Tone   119 

Figure  from  Tympanum,  Senate  Wing   123 

Covering  to  Air  Ducts   124 

Capitol,  1828,  East  Front,  from  a  Sketch  by  Charles  Bullfinch — 

Half-Tone   125 

Greenough's  Washington,  formerly  in  Rotunda,  now  East  Front.  .  130 

Procession,  July  4,  1S51,  from  an  Old  Print   131 

Capitol,  1850,  East  Front,  from  an  Old  Lithograph   132 

Laying  Corner  Stone,  1851,  from  an  Old  Print   133 

Fountain,  Exterior  Wall  of  Grounds,  West   136 

South  Entrance  to  Senate  Chamber   144 

Oration  at  Capitol,  July  4,  1851,  from  an  Old  Cut   152 

Sketch  of  Washington  in  Embryo,  1792   152 

Map  of  Washington,  1893   152 

Engraving,  Marble  Clock,  Statuary  Hall   152 


The  Joint  Committee  created  by  the 
Congress  to  provide  for  the  appropriate  commemora- 
tion of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  laying  of 
the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States  (see  page 
103)  organized  with  Senator  DANIEL  W.  Vooriif.es  as  Chairman 
and  General  Duncan  S.  Walkkr  as  Secretary.  The  plan  and 
scope  of  the  commemoration  were  agreed  upon  substantially  as 
set  forth  in  the  accompanying  description  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  day,  and  the  proper  execution  of  the  same  was  intrusted  to 
the  Committee  of  Citizens,  by  whom  voluntary  contribntions  suffi- 
cient to  defray  the  expense  of  an  appiopriate  celebration  of  the 
anniversary  were  seenred,  subject  to  such  directions  and  control  as 
might  be  deemed  necessary  by  the  Joint  Committee  of  Congress. 

The  official  programme  of  the  ceremonies  included  a  civic  and 
military  parade  over  the  route  taken  by  the  procession  on  Septem- 
ber 18,  1793;  prayer  by  the  Right  Reverend  William  Parkt, 
Bishop  of  Maryland;  introduction  by  the  Chairman  of  the  Citi- 
zens' Committee  of  the  Chairman  of  Ceremonies,  Grover  Cleve- 
land, President  of  the  United  States;  address  by  President 
Cleveland;  oration  by  William  Wirt  Henry,  of  Virginia; 
address,  "The  United  States  Senate,"  by  Adlai  Ewing  Steven- 
son, Vice-President  of  the  United  States;  address,  "The  United 
States  House  of  Representatives,"  by  Charles  Frederick  Crisp, 
Speaker  of  the  House;  address,  "The  Judiciary,"  by  Mr.  Justice 
Henry  Billings  Brown,  United  States  Supreme  Court;  address, 
"The  District  of  Columbia,"  by  Myron  M.  Parker,  Commis- 
sioner of  the  District  of  Columbia.  The  vocal  music  was  rendered 
by  a  trained  "Centennial  Chorus"  of  fifteen  hundred  adult  voices, 
and  the  instrumental  music  bv  the  United  States  Marine  Band. 


8  Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 

In  tlu-  evening  there  was  an  appropriate  illumination  of  the 
east  front  of  the  Capitol  building  and  a  concert  by  the  Centennial 
Chorus  and  the  Marine  Band. 

The  programme  agreed  upon  by  the  Joint  Committee  was  faith- 
fully adhered  to,  and  without  any  expense  whatever  to  the  United 
States  Government. 

A  full  description  of  the  proceedings  of  the  day;  a  history  of 
the  legislation  of  Congress  providing  for  the  celebration,  for  the 
erection  of  a  tablet  to  mark  the  corner  stone,  and  for  the  publi- 
cation of  the  proceedings  of  the  day;  minutes  of  the  meetings  of 
the  Joint  Committee  of  Congress,  and  an  account  of  the  organi- 
zation and  proceedings  of  the  Citizens'  Committee  are  included. 
It  was  thought  appropriate  also  to  add  the  best  accounts  obtain- 
able of  the  ceremonies  attending  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of 
the  original  Capitol  building,  September  18,  1793,  and  of  the  cor- 
ner stone  of  the  extension  of  the  Capitol,  July  4,  1851,  and  a  con- 
densed history  of  the  Capitol  building,  with  a  brief  sketch  of  the 
architects  engaged  at  different  times  in  its  construction  and  care. 


Organization  and  Work 


9 


\ 


Organization  and  Work 


HE  MOVEMENT  for 
the  commemoration  of 
the  centennial  anniversary 
of  the  laying-  of  the  corner 
stone  of  the  Nation's  Capi- 
tol was  initiated  by  a  motion 
made  by  Mr.  M.  I.  Wk.LLER 
at  a  meeting  of  the  East 
Washington  Citizens'  Association,  September  3,  1891.  The 
motion  was  agreed  to,  and  the  Association  requested  appropriate 
action  by  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Accordingly  a  call  was  issned  by  the  Commissioners  for  a  public 
meeting,  which  was  held  on  June  7,  1893.  Hon.  John  W.  Ross, 
President  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners,  presided,  and  selected  a 
committee  of  fifty  citizens  to  conduct  the  preparations  for  the  cele- 
bration. This  General  Committee  was  composed  and  officered  as 
follows: 


GENERAL  COMMITTEE 


[In  charge  of  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  celebration,  with  power  to  appoint  such  officers, 
agents,  and  subcommittees  as  may  be  necessary.] 


J.  W.  Babsox. 
H.  L.  BlSCOE. 

H.  V.  Boyxtox. 
A.  T.  Brittox. 


Lawrence  Gardner,  Chairman. 
C.  C.  Glover,  Vice-Chairman. 
Edwix  B.  Hay,  Secretary. 
M.  I.  Weller,  Correspond  inn;  Secretary. 
S.  W.  Woodward,  Treasurer. 


J.  J.  Darlington. 
Mills  Dean. 
Harrisox  Dixgmax 
W.  C.  Dodge. 


George  T.  Dux  lop. 
J.  J.  Edsox. 
W.  J.  Erizzki.l. 
William  A.  Gordon. 

1 1 


12 


Capitol  ( 'entennial  (  elebration 


O.  C.  Green, 
h.  a.  griswold. 
Jules  Guthridgi-:. 

E.  J-  IIannan. 
Chris.  Heurich. 

J.  Harrison  Johnson. 

F.  A.  Lehman. 
Thomas  F.  MILLER. 
F.  L.  Moore. 
Theodore  W.  NoyEs. 
M.  M.  Parker. 


Charles  F.  Powell. 
John  W.  Ross. 
Samuel  Ross. 

ISADORE  Saks. 
James  P.  Scaggs. 
Henry  Sherwood. 
Thomas  SomervillE. 
A.  R.  Spofford. 
Thomas  W.  Smith. 
Ellis  Spear, 
a.  P.  Sperry. 


W.  J.  Stephenson. 
Dr.  J.  M.  Toner. 
Seymour  w.  Tulloch. 
Duncan  S.  Walker. 
B.  H.  Warner, 
j.  w.  whelpley. 
Beriah  Wilkins. 
L.  C.  Williamson. 
L.  D.  Wine. 
Marshall  W.  Wines. 
S.  S.  Yoder. 


SUBCOMMITTEES 

As  the  work  of  preparation  progressed  it  was  found  necessary  to 
appoint  the  following  subcommittees  and  to  define  their  duties: 

INVITATION  COMMITTEE 

[Under  the  direction  of  the  C.eneral  Committee,  to  prepare  suitable  invitations  and  issue  the 
same  to  distinguished  guests.] 

Gen.  Duncan  S.  Walker,  Chairman. 

Gen.  H.  V.  Boynton,  Vice-Chairman. 

Marshall  W.  Wines,  Secretary. 
Commissioner  John  W.  Ross.  Hon.  Barnes  CompTon. 

Commissioner  M.  M.  Parker.  Jwlge  M.  F.  Morris. 

Commissioner  CHARLES  F.  POWELL.  Prof.  J.  C.  WELLING. 

Chief  Justice  M.  W.  Fuller.  Frank  Hatton. 

Hon.  Eppa  HunTON.  Thko.  W.  Noyes. 


CEREMONIES  AT  CAPITOL  COMMITTEE 

(In  charge  of  formulating  a  plan  and  determining  all  ceremonies  and  exercises  at  the  Capitol, 
except  exercises  in  charge  of  the  Evening  Entertainment  Committee.] 

B.  H.  Warnkr,  Chairman. 

A.  R.  Spokkord,  Vice-Chairman . 

Charles  C.  Glover.  J.  J.  Darlington. 

Dr.  Joseph  M.  Toner.  Edward  Clark. 

J.  W.  Whelpley.  Mills  Dean. 


COMMITTEE  ON  SCOPE 

[In  charge  of  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  celebration,  such  as  determining  the  character  of 
celebration,  what  committees  are  necessary,  and  their  numbers.] 

J.  W.  Babson,  Chairman. 
Dr.  Joseph  M.  Toner.  Mills  Dean. 

M.  I.  Weller.  F.  L.  Moore. 

W.  J.  Stkphenson.  Henry  Sherwood. 


Organization  and  Work 


13 


COMMITTEE  ON  LEGISLATION 

[To  prepare  and  obtain  necessary  legislation  approved  by  the  General  Committee.] 
Lawrence  Gardner,  Chairman . 
Gen.  Duncan  S.  Walker.  Dr.  Joseph  M.  Toner. 

RECEPTION  COMMITTEE 

[To  receive  and  extend  proper  courtesies  to  distinguished  guests.] 
Beriah  Wilkins,  Chairman . 
Dr.  William  Tindall,  Secretary. 

Members  of  the  Cent  ra/  Committee 

Ex-Governor  A.  R.  Shepherd. 


Ex-Mayor  JAMES  G.  BKRRET. 
Ex-Mayor  M.  G.  Emery. 
Ex-Mayor  Savi.es  J.  Bowen. 
Ex-Commissioner  John  II.  Ketcham. 
Ex-Commissioner  Thomas  B.  Bryan. 
Ex-Commissioner  J.  Dent. 
Ex-Commissioner  T.  P.  Morgan. 
Ex-Commissioner  J.  R.  WEST. 
Ex-Commissioner  J.  B.  Edmonds. 
Gen.  Nicholas  Anderson.  Dr.  W.  W. 
Mahlon  ]!.  Ashford. 
Charles  B.  Bailey. 
John  A.  Baker. 
James  L.  Barbour 
L.  J.  Bates. 
C.  J.  bell. 
M.  w.  Beyeridge. 
Gen.  William  Birney. 
Chapin  Brown. 
N.  W.  Bi  rch  ell. 
Gen.  Cyrus  Bussey. 
John  L.  Carroll. 
II.  II.  Carter. 
Eugene  Carusi. 
John  Cassells. 
George  W.  Cochran. 
H.  L.  Cranford. 
William  ,S.  Crosby. 
Wash.  Danenhower. 
Walter  D.  Dayidge. 
Henry  E.  Davis. 
John  T.  Deyine. 
J.  Maury  Dove. 
Charles  C.  Duncanson. 
James  S.  Edmonds. 
W.  E.  Edmonston. 
J.  C.  Ergood. 
Capt.  G.  J.  ElEBEGER. 

Albert  P.  Fox. 


Godding. 
G.  Clay  Goodloe. 
George  C.  Gorham. 
John  T.  Giyen. 
William  B.  Gurley. 
Col.  John  Hay. 
Gen.  S.  S.  Henkle. 
Col.  Charles  Heywocd 
William  C.  Hill. 
Curtis  J.  Hillyer. 

W.  S.  HOGE. 

Robert  O.  Holtzman. 
Gardner  G.  Hubbard. 
Frank  Hume. 
Stilson  Hutchins. 
Maj.  W.  P.  Huxford. 
James  Kerr. 
T.  A.  Lambert. 
L.  Z.  Leiter. 
George  E.  Lemon. 
A.  A.  Lipscomb. 
Daniel  Loughran. 
Samuel  Maddox. 
Dr.  Thomas  F.  Mallan. 
M.  Marfan. 


Ex-Commissioner  William  B.  Webb. 
Ex-Commissioner  S.  E.  Wheatley. 
Ex-Commissioner  J.  W.  DOUGLASS. 
Ex-Commissioner  L.  (V.  HlNE. 
Ex-Commissioner  G.  J.  Lydeckek. 
Ex-Commissioner  William  Ludlow. 
Ex-Commissioner  C.  W.  Raymond. 
Ex-Commissioner  II.  M.  Robert. 
Ex-Commissioner  William  T.  ROSSELL 
A.  P.  Morse. 
I).  I.  Murphy. 
Clarence  F.  Norment. 
N.  G.  Ordway. 
George  M.  Oyster. 
Anthony'  Pollock. 
George  R.  Repetti. 
F.  A.  Richardson. 
E.  Francis  Riggs. 
Bushrod  Robinson. 
Theo.  Roessle. 
William  H.  Selden. 
II.  W.  Sohon. 
James  W.  Someryille. 
O.  G.  Staples. 
E.  J.  Stellwagen. 
John  A.  Swope. 
H.  T.  TaggarT. 
A.  A.  Thomas. 
S.  T.  Thomas. 
Henry  T.  Thurber. 
Enoch  Totten. 
H.  O.  TowLES. 
Thomas  E.  Waggaman. 
Charles  E.  White. 


Dr.  William  V.  M armion.  C.  C.  Wii.lard. 


C.  M.  Matthews. 
William  F.  Mattingly. 
F.  B.  McGuiRE. 
W.  Cranch  McIntyrk. 


Dr.  Edw.  M.  Gallaudet.  D.  P.  McKeever. 
II.  Wise  Garnett.  John  R.  McLean. 


H.  A.  WlLLARD. 
Wash.  B.  Williams. 
Col.  J.  M.  Wilson. 
Levi  Woodbury. 
Simon  Wolf, 
a.  s.  worthington. 


14 


Capital  ( 'a/  tenn  ial  ( *elebration 


COMMITTEE  OX  PUBLIC  ORDER  AND  COMFORT 

[To  cooperate  with  the  District  authorities  in  securing  the  necessary  aid  for  enforcing  the  requi- 
site regulations  and  to  clear  the  avenue  and  streets  for  the  formation  and  movement  of  the  pro- 
cession. Also  authorized  to  consult  with  the  proper  authorities  in  charge  of  the  United  States 
Capitol  for  the  preservation  of  order  in  the  Capitol  grounds  and  such  other  matters  as  in  their 
judgment  may  he  necessary  for  the  protection  and  comfort  of  the  public,  both  during  the  cere- 
monies and  evening  entertainment  ] 

Henry  L.  Biscok,  Chairman. 

W.  I,.  Cash.  M.  A.  McGowan. 

W.  B.  Easton.  Col.  W.  G.  Moors. 

George  H.  Gaddes.  Joseph  Parris. 

John  Keyworth.  Thomas  A.  Rovkr. 

a.  W.  Kei.eev.  II.  l.  street. 

J.  Fred.  Kelly.  Richard  Sylvester. 

Nobee  D.  Earner.  E.  P.  Wright. 


EVENING  ENTERTAINMENT  COMMITTEE 

[Charged  with  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  evening  ceremonies  except  illumination  of  the  Capi- 
tol and  fireworks.] 

JUEES  Guthridge,  Chairman. 

A.  T.  BriTTon,  Vice-Chairman. 

James  F.  Scaggs,  Secretary. 
Job  Barnard.  James  Lansburgh. 

A.  M.  Bliss.  W.  A.  McKenny. 

Robert  Christie.  Thomas  E.  Miller. 

Harrison  Dingman.  E.  A.  Moseley. 

George  T.  Dunlop.  R.  Ross  Perry. 

Reginald  Fendall.  Richard  Smith. 

H.  W.  Garnett.  S.  W.  Tulloch. 

O.  C.  Green.  Gen.  Thomas  M.  Vincent. 

George  E.  Hamilton.  L.  C.  Williamson. 

Louis  D.  Wine. 


RAILROAD  RATES  COMMITTEE 

[Toohtain  the  lowest  possible  railroad  rates  from  all  points  in  the  Union  to  this  city,  and  announce 
the  same  to  the  public  as  fast  as  received.] 

Thomas  W.  Smith,  Chairman. 
E.  W.  Anderson.  Samuel  Ross. 

H.  L.  Biscoe.  W.  J.  Stephenson. 


COMMITTEE  ON  STANDS 

[In  charge  of  the  erection  and  decorating  of  a  stand  in  front  of  the  Capitol  and  such  other  stands 
as  the  Executive  Committee  shall  order.] 

William  J.  Frizzell,  ('//airman. 
Harry  Barton.  T.  L.  Holbrook. 

Owen  Donnelly.  H.  F.  Holsten. 

William  Holmead.  C.  C.  Meads. 


Organization  and  Work 


15 


CAPITOL  DECORATION  COMMITTEE 
[In  charge  of  the  decoration  <>f  the  Capitol  and  the  approaches  thereto.] 

S.  S.  Voder,  Chairman. 

R.  B.  BOCKI.EY.  J.  J.  S.  Has.si.er. 

John  R.  Carmody.  James  F.  Hood. 

Thomas  N.  Conrad.  Tracy  L.  Jeffords. 

C.  H.  Fickling.  James  D.  Maher. 

Benjamin  F.  Guy.  George  W.  Moss. 

Charles  H.  Harris.  W.  H.  Rupp. 

E.  J.  Hannan.  George  W.  Talbekt. 
J.  H.  C.  Wilson. 


MUSIC  COMMITTEE 


[Charged  with  the  duty  of  engaging  the  necessary  music  for  the  celebration,  subject  to  the  approval 

of  the  Executive  Committee.] 

William  A.  Gordon,  Chairman. 

Dr.  Frank  T.  Howe,  Chairman  Subcommittee  an  Chorus. 
Ralph  L.  GalT,  Chairman  Subcommittee  on  Hand. 

A.  B.  Coppes.  John  A.  Roeder. 

James  H.  Forsyth.  W.  A.  .Slack. 

Fred.  A.  Grant.  Joseph  I.  Weller. 

J.  E.  Jones.  James  P.  Willett. 

William  H.  Manogue.  Leonard  C.  Wood. 

S.  M.  Yeatman. 


PRINTING  COMMITTEE 

[To  supervise  such  printing  as  may  be  referred  to  them  and  ordered  by  the  Executive  Committee 
Also  in  charge  of  any  designing  and  printing  or  publications  that  may  be  authorized  by  the 
Executive  Committee.] 

A.  F.  Sperry,  Chairman . 

Arthur  St.  C.  Denver.  David  Moore. 

George  H.  Harries.  William  H.  Rapley. 


BADGES  AND  SOUVENIR  MEDALS  COMMITTEE 

[To  cause  designs  for  badges  and  souvenir  medals  and  the  cost  thereof  to  be  submitted  for  the 
approval  of  the  Executive  Committee,  and  when  so  authorized  to  secure  and  deliver  the  same  to 
the  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee.] 

Thomas  Somerville,  Chairman. 

George  W.  Casilear.  H.  H.  Twombly. 

D.  I.  Murphy.  Joseph  Waltmeyer. 

Sidney  H.  Nealey.  George  Gibson. 


i6 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


PRESS  COMMITTEE 


[To arrange  for  the  accommodation  of  the  press  and  to  extend  all  necessary  facilities.) 

Theodore  W.  Noyes,  Chairman. 
P.  V.  Da  Graw,  Vice-Chairman. 


George  W.  abell. 
Felix  Agnus. 
Thomas  G.  Alvord. 
Alex.  I).  Anderson 
Addison  B.  Atkins. 
Edward  W.  IUrrktt. 
David  S.  Harry. 
C.  C.  Bowsfield. 
John  Bovi.k. 
HobarT  Brooks. 
Logan  Cari.isi.k. 
Chari.es  C.  Carlton. 
John  M.  Carson. 
Cluskey  Cromwell. 
William  L.  Crounse. 
Marshall  Gushing. 
R.  H.  Darby. 


Henry  L.  West,  Secretary. 

E.  G.  DUNNELL. 

W.  II.  Dennis. 
J.  IIadley  Doyle. 
Fergus  P.  Ferris. 
Harry  P.  Godwin. 
George  H.  Harries. 
Prank  H.  Hosford. 
Thomas  B.  Kalbfus. 
Rudolph  Kaufemann. 
S.  H.  Kaufemann. 
Horace  Kenney. 
R.  M.  Larner. 
Francis  E.  Leupp. 
A.  Maurice  Lowe. 
R.  Bowman  MATTHEWS. 
John  P.  Miller. 
O'Brien  Moore. 


Frank  P.  Morgan. 
Frank  J.  O'Neill. 
John  H.  Roche. 
Maurice  Splain. 
John  G.  S later. 
Harold  Snowden. 
Orlando  O.  Stealey. 
Alfred  J.  Stofer. 
Louis  Schade. 
R.  H.  Sylvester. 
John  Tracey. 
Clifford  Warden. 
Walter  Wellman. 
E.  B.  Wight. 
R.  J.  W\'nne. 


PARADE  COMMITTEE 

[In  charge  of  all  matters  pertaining  to  parade,  both  civic  and  military,  organize  the  same,  and  at 
the  proper  time  turn  it  over  to  the  Grand  Marshal.] 

Gen.  Ellis  Spear,  Chairman. 

Charles  W.  Darr,  Vice-Chairman. 
Robert  Ball.  Daniel  Frazier. 

Capt.  Harrison  Barbour.  George  Gibson. 

Robert  Boyd.  Col.  C.  Heywood,  U.  S.  M.  C. 

Lieut.  Col.  Harry  Coggin.  Capt.  Joseph  O.  Manson. 

Capt.  C.  S.  Domer.  Capt.  John  S.  Miller. 

S.  E.  Faunce.  Capt.  Allison  Nailor. 

,.        John  J.  Peabodw 


ILLUMINATION  COMMITTEE 

[In  charge  of  illuminating  the  Capitol  and  matters  pertaining  to  illumination  and  fireworks.] 

Fred.  A.  Lehman,  Chairman. 
William  F.  Hart,  Vice-Chairman. 
A.  W.  Hart,  Secretary. 

A.  B.  Claxton,  Chairman  Subcommittee  on  Fireworks. 

GUSTAV  BlSSING.  C.  P.  GLEIM. 

Albert  Bright.  O.  B.  Hallam. 

Edward  Clark.  William  McAdoo. 

Capt.  George  McC.  Derby.  B.  N.  Morris. 

Capt.  G.  J.  Fiebeger.  George  L.  Morton. 

Max  Georgii.  A.  S.  Pattison. 

A.  R.  Townsend. 


Organization  and  Work 


i 


FINANCE  COMMITTEE 


[Charged  with  raising  funds  for  the  expenses  of  the  celebration.    When  collected,  to  be  paid  ov 
to  the  treasurer  by  the  chairman.] 

John  Joy  Edson,  Chairman. 
Frank  P.  Reesidp:,  Secretary. 


Andrew  Archer. 
John  T.  Arms. 
Brent.  L.  Baldwin. 
W.  B.  Baldwin. 
W.  D.  Baldwin. 
F.  H.  Barbarin. 
James  L.  Barbour. 
Job  Barnard. 
Harry  Barton. 
Charles  J.  Bell. 
H.  H.  Bergman. 
E.  P.  Berry. 
Samuel  Bieber. 
J.  Wesley  Boteler. 
Charles  C.  Bradley. 
S.  Thomas  Brown. 
Horatio  Browning. 
Henry  C.  Burch. 
Albert  Carry. 
J.  W.  Chappell. 
Daniel  B.  Clark. 
William  E.  Clark. 
Dennis  Connell. 
Clarence  Corson. 
Samuel  Cross. 
Samuel  W.  Curriden. 
C.  H.  Davidge. 
Louis  J.  Davis. 
George  W.  Driver. 
Edward  F.  Droop. 
C.  C.  Duncanson. 
W.  Clarence  Duvall. 
S.  G.  Eberly. 
John  C.  Eckloff. 
Matthew  G.  Emery. 
George  E.  Emmons. 
A.  P.  Fardon. 
C.  H.  Fickling. 
Dr.  George  W.  Fisher. 
James  E.  Fitch. 
Prof.  W.  G.  Fowler. 
William  J.  Frizzell. 
Andrew  Gleason. 
J.  H.  Gordon. 
Thomas  Gray. 
A.  M.  Green. 

H.  Mis.  2  ii  


H.  A.  Griswold. 
Charles  E.  Gross. 
William  B.  Gurley. 
Jules  Guthridge. 
George  F.  Harbin. 
Walter  Heiston. 
George  C.  Henning. 
John  E.  Herrell. 
D.  P.  Hickling. 
Theo.  L.  Holbrook. 
A.  H.  F.  HOLSTEN. 
R.  O.  Holtzman. 
C.  W.  Howard. 
Charles  A.  James. 

A.  S.  Johnson. 
J.  B.  Johnson. 

J.  Harrison  Johnson. 
George  A.  Jordon. 
John  G.  Judd. 
Arthur  L.  Keane. 
George  Killeen. 
George  H.  Kennedy. 
J.  J.  Kleiner. 
T.  A.  Lambert. 
James  Lansburgh. 
John  B.  Larner. 
F.  A.  Lehman. 

B.  F.  Leighton. 
George  E.  Lemon. 

L.  A.  LlTTLEFIELD. 

Philo  J.  Lockwood. 
Meyer  Loeb. 
A.  M.  Lothrop. 
John  W.  Macarty. 
Frank  P.  Madigan. 
John  H.  Magruder. 
William  H.  Manogue. 
Clarence  McClelland. 
W.  W.  McCullough. 
A.  M.  McLachlen. 
Frank  B.  Mohun. 
W.  C.  Morrison. 
Allison  Nailor,  Jr. 
Frank  P.  Noyes. 
George  M.  Oyster. 
James  F.  Oyster. 
-2 


E.  S.  Parker. 
John  C.  Parker. 
Thomas  C.  Pearsai.l. 
Seaton  Perry. 
Eugene  Peters. 
J.  T.  Petty. 
W.  W.  Rapley. 
Frank  T.  Rawi.ings. 
E.  Francis  Riggs. 
T.  E.  Roessle. 
Samuel  Ross. 

A.  B.  Ruff. 
Isadore  Saks. 

Dr.  A.  J.  Schafhirt. 
John  W.  Shafer. 
Samuel  S.  Shedd. 
John  G.  Slater. 
Thomas  W.  Smith. 

B.  F.  Snyder. 
Thomas  Somerville. 
O.  G.  Staples. 

E.  J.  Stellwagf;n. 
Frederick  C.  Stevens. 

F.  A.  Stier. 

A.  L.  Sturtevant. 

J.  S.  SWORMSTKI). 

George  W.  Talbert. 
Joseph  D.  Taylor. 

A.  A.  Thomas. 
John  W.  Thompson. 
O.  T.  Thompson. 

W.  S.  Thompson. 
Lem.  Towers,  Jr. 
R.  A.  Walker. 
Samuel  H.  Walker. 

B.  H.  Warner. 
John  L.  Weaver. 
Edward  S.  Wescott. 
Frank  P.  Weller. 
W.  J.  Whelpley. 
Charles  E.  White. 
George  H.  B.  White. 
Beriah  Wilkins. 
Charles  P.  Williams. 
J  esse  B.  Wilson. 
Louis  D.  Wine. 


i8 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


AUDITING  COMMITTEE 

[All  hills  must  be  examined  by  the  committee,  to  aseertain  if  they  have  been  properly  authorized 
by  the  Executive  Committee  by  order  or  by  appropriation,  and  approved  by  the  chairman  of  the 
Executive  Committee.  When  so  examined  and  approved  by  the  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Auditing,  the  Treasurer  shall  draw  his  check  for  the  amount  of  the  bills,  which  shall  then  be 
paid.  All  statements  or  reports  made  up  by  the  Executive  Committee  of  receipts  and  disburse- 
ments must  be  verified  and  approved  by  the  Committee  on  Auditing.] 

Isadork  Saks,  Chairman. 
George  C.  IIknning.  Clem.  W.  Howard. 


STREET  DECORATION  COMMITTEE 


Charged  with  the  duty  of  .securing  decorations  for  and  decorating  the  avenues  and  streets  and  the 
national  and  city  government  buildings.] 


Harrison 
Rkuben  F.  Baker. 
Harrison  Barbour. 
Robert  Beall. 
Henry  L.  Bryan. 
Albert  Carry. 
S.  W.  Curriden. 
William  Dickson. 
Edwin  F.  Droop. 
J.  H.  Gordon. 
Wm.  Hoeke. 


Dingman,  Chairman . 

I.  W.  Hopkins. 
Harry  R.  HowSER. 

W.  A.  HUTCHINS. 

George  W.  Joyce. 
Prof.  Harry  King. 
C  C.  Lancaster. 
Frank  P.  Madigan. 
Edward  Minnix. 
F.  S.  Parks. 
George  F.  Pyles. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  PARADE 

The  following  officers  of  the  parade  were  appointed: 

Grand  Marshal:  Gen.  Albert  Ordway. 
Ch  ief  of  Staff:  Gen.  Ellis  Spear. 
Spi'dal  Aids:  Col.  H.  C.  Corbin,  U.  S.  A. 

Capt.  George  P.  Schriver,  U.  S.  A. 


Aids 


Arthur  D.  Anderson. 
E.  W.  Anderson. 
T.  H.  Anderson. 
Joseph  L.  Atkins. 
Robert  Ball. 
Ralph  Barnard. 
J.  A.  BarThel. 
N.  Bestor. 
E.  H.  Block. 
Lee  Britton. 
Capt.  William  Brown. 
S.  S.  Burdett. 
Maj.  F.  A.  Butts. 


Eugene  B.  Carusi. 
Thornton  A.  Carusi. 

DORSEY  CLAGGETT. 

Barnes  CompTon,  Jr. 
John  T.  Crowley. 
A.  J.  Curtis. 
St.  Julian  Dapray. 
Charles  W.  Darr. 
Walter  D.  Davidge,  Jr. 
William  W.  Deane. 
Gen.  J.  Dickinson. 
William  Dickson. 
J.  Franklin  Donohue. 


J.  Maury  Dove. 
J.  Hadley  Doyle. 
Lanier  Dunn. 
John  Joy  Edson,  Jr. 
Maj.  Thomas  M.  Gale. 
Arthur  P.  Gorman,  Jr. 
Dr.  W.  Hammett. 
Maj.  William  Harmer. 
Robert  Harrover. 
F.  J.  Hart. 
Richard  K.  Harvey. 
William  B.  Hibbs. 
S.  Hodgkins. 


Organization  and  Work 


T9 


ROBERT  ().  Hoi.TZMAN. 

Frank  Hume,  Jr. 
Maj.  T.  W.  Hongerford. 
Maj.  Robert  w.  Hunter. 
Capt.  J.  H.  Johnson. 
Prof.  J.  Harry  Kino. 
Thomas  J.  King. 
S.  Prentiss  Knutt. 
Blair  Lee. 

L.  A.  LlTTLEF  IELD. 

Woodbury  Lowkry,  Jr. 
Dr.  J.  Maloney. 
William  H.  Manogue. 
Col.  T.  R.  Marshall. 


James  J.  McDonald. 

George  x.  McLanahan 
\V.  H.  Michael. 
Maj.  Julian  G.  Moore. 
Maj.  a.  Porter  Morse. 
II.  C.  Moses. 
Washington  Nailok. 
Edward  G.  Niles. 
James  L.  Xorris,  Jr. 
Gen.  J.  X.  Patterson. 
George  H.  Penrose. 
H.  L.  Prince. 
George  W.  Rae. 
J.  B.  Randolph. 


John  J.  REPETTI. 
Leigh  Robinson. 
I.  X.  Run  van. 
Col.  J.  H.  Strickland. 
Magnus  S.  Thompson. 
Julius  W.  Tolson. 
Maj.  E.  B.  Townsend. 
John  Tweedale. 
H.  H.  Twombly. 
Hugh  Waddell. 
Albert  C.  Walker. 
Joseph  I.  Weller. 
Dr.  William  P.  Young. 
W.  H.  Zimmerman. 


SCOPE  OF  THE  CELEBRATION 

The  plans  for  the  celebration  were  all  prepared  by  the  Citizens' 
Committee,  and,  npon  approval  by  the  Joint  Committee  appointed 
under  the  joint  resolution  of  Congress,  were  carried  into  execution 
by  the  Citizens'  Committee. 

From  the  very  beginning  the  Citizens'  Committee  recognized 
that  the  event  to  be  celebrated  was  of  great  national  importance, 
and,  as  soon  as  the  Congress  assembled  in  extra  session,  submitted 
the  matter  to  the  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  and  to  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  Congress  immedi- 
ately acted,  and  passed  a  j'oint  resolution  (see  p.  102)  providing  for 
a  committee  of  fourteen,  to  consist  of  seven  Senators  and  seven 
Representatives,  to  act  with  a  similar  number  of  citizens  to  be 
selected  by  the  Citizens'  Committee,  "to  take  order  in  the  matter 
of  arranging  for  the  ceremonies  at  the  Capitol." 


THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE 
The  Joint  Committee  was  composed  and  officered  as  follows: 

Chairman:  Hon.  Daniel  Wolsey  Voorhees,  United  States  Senate. 
Secretary:  Gen.  Duncan  S.  Walker. 

Senators 

Daniel  W.  Voorhees.  John  Sherman. 

Matt  W.  Ransom.  Stephen  M.  White. 

William  E.  Chandler.  Watson  C.  Squire. 

John  Martin. 


20 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


Representative!, 


William  i).  Bottom. 
David  B.  Henderson. 
Gkokge  W.  Houk. 


John  C.  Hijack. 

John  De  Witt  Warnkr. 

Chari.es  O'Neill. 


Wii.uam  Cogswell. 


C  'it hens 


Lawrence  Gardner. 

Gen.  Di'ncan  S.  Walker. 

C.  C.  Glover. 

John  W.  Ross. 

B.  H.  Warner. 

J.  M.  Toner. 

Beriah  Wilkins. 


Michael  I.  Wkller. 

E.  I?.  Hay. 

S.  W.  Woodward. 

H.  L.  Biscoe. 

A.  R.  Spofkord. 

John  Joy  Edson. 

Marshall  W.  Wines. 


At  meetings  of  the  Joint  Committee  the  plans  for  the  celebration 
drawn  up  by  the  Citizens1  Committee  were  approved  and  directed 
to  be  carried  into  effect  (see  pp.  92-95). 


It  was  also  agreed  by  the  Joint  Committee  that  Congress  should 
be  requested  to  make  the  18th  day  of  September,  1893,  a  legal 
holiday  within  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  to  lend  certain  army 
and  navy  flags  to  the  Architect  of  the  Capitol  for  decorative  pur- 
poses, and  that  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Representatives  be 
invited  to  attend  the  exercises  at  the  Capitol.  Congress  responded 
favorably  to  the  requests  and  accepted  the  invitation  (see  pp. 


LEGISLATION  BY  CONGRESS 


95.  103-106). 


The  Programme 


21 


Official  Programme 


The  following  is  the  official  programme  for  the  celebration  agreed 
upon  and  executed: 

CONCERTS  BY  CENTENNIAL  CHIMES 

From  g  to  10  ii.  m. 

t.  National  peal,  changes  rung  on  thirteen  bells. 

2.  America  (  My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thee). 

3.  Ring  Out,  Wild  Bells.    |  Mrs.  Abby  Hutchinson  Patton.  | 

4.  Old  Coronation. 

5.  The  Sweet  By  and  By. 

6.  Blue  Bells  of  Scotland. 

7.  The  British  Grenadiers. 

8.  The  Bells  of  Shandon. 

9.  Maryland,  My  Maryland. 

10.  De  Beriot's  Fifth  Air. 

1 1 .  Way  Down  upon  the  Suwannee  River. 

12.  Schubert's  Ave  Maria. 

13.  Columbia,  the  Gem  of  the  Ocean. 

14.  Oft  in  the  Stilly  Night. 

15.  Dixie. 

16.  Old  Black  Joe. 

17.  Haste  to  the  Wedding. 

iS.  Massa's  in  the  Cold,  Cold  Ground. 

19.  Bonny  Doon. 

20.  What  Fairy-like  Music. 

21.  National  salute,  the  thirteen  bells  being  struck  in  unison  forty-four  times. 

From  1  to  2  p.  m. 

1.  Centennial  peal,  changes  rung  on  thirteen  bells. 

2.  My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thee  (America). 

3.  The  Belis,  march.    (  Battmaiin. ) 

4.  Robin  Adair.  (Keppel.) 

5.  La  Marseillaise.    (  Rouget  de  ITsle. ) 

6.  Believe  Me,  If  All  Those  Endearing  Young  Charms.    (Tom  Moore.) 

7.  Chimes  of  Corneville.    (  Plancjuette. ) 
S.  Rose  Marie. 

9.  Wo  ist  des  Deutchen  Vaterland  ?    (  Reichardt. ) 
10.  Way  Down  upon  the  Suwannee  River.  (Foster.) 

(  (a)  Monastery  Bells. 
1 1 '    1(  A)  Ave  Maria  Stella.    ( Vely. ) 
12.  De  Beriot's  Fifth  Air. 


23 


24 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


13.  Die  Kapelle  (The  Chapel).    (Kreutzer. ) 

[4.  Guide  Me,  O  Thou  Great  Jehovah.    (Flotow. ) 

I  (</)  Prayer  from  Zampa.  (Herold.) 

I  (6)  Wedding  March — Lohengrin.  (Wagner.) 
t6.  Ring  Out,  Wild  Bells.    (Mrs.  Ahby  Hutchinson  Pattern.) 
17.  Heiniaths-Kliinge.     (Silcher. ) 
iS.  Oft  in  the  Stilly  Night.    (  Moore. ) 

19.  Hear  the  Music  of  the  Hells. 

20.  The  Sweet  By  and  By. 

21.  Le  Carillon.    (Streahog. ) 

22.  Maryland,  My  Maryland. 

23.  National  salute,  change  peal,  the  thirteen  hells  heiug  struck  in  unison 

forty-four  times. 


ROUTE  OF  PARADE 

The  parade  to  start  at  1  p.  111.  and  to  arrive  at  the  Capitol  before 
2  p.  in.,  the  line  of  march  (same  as  on  September  18,  1793)  to  begin 
on  Pennsylvania  avemie  near  Fifteenth  street  northwest;  thence 
south  down  Fifteenth  street  to  Pennsylvania  avenne;  thence  down 
Pennsylvania  avenue  to  the  Capitol  grounds;  thence  to  B  street 
north;  by  P>  street  north  to  First  street  east,  to  B  street  south; 
thence  to  New  Jersey  avenue,  there  to  be  dismissed. 

EXERCISES  AT  THE  CAPITOL 

The  following  was  decided  on  as  the  programme  at  the  Capitol, 
commencing  at  2  p.  m.  : 

Music — Overture  to  Tannhauser  Marine  Band 

Prayer  Right  Reverend  William  Paret,  Bishop  of  Maryland 

Music — Te  Deum  in  H  flat.    (  Dudley  Buck)  Grand  Chorus 

Introduction  Lawrence  Gardner,  Chairman  of  General  Committee 

Chairman  of  Ceremonies  Grover  Cleveland,  President  of  the  United  States 

Music — Selections — Lakme  Marine  Band 

Orator  of  the  Day  William  Wirt  Henry,  Virginia 

Music — Star-Spangled  Banner  Grand  Chorus 

Address — The  United  States  Senate  ADLAI  E.  Stevenson,  Vice-President 

Music — Potpourri  of  national  airs  Marine  Band 

Address — The  United  States  House  of  Representatives.  .  .Charles  F.  Crisp,  Speaker 

Music — The  Heavens  are  Telling  (Creat.on)  Grand  Chorus 

Address — The  Judiciary.  .  .Henry  Billings  Brown,  Supreme  Court  United  States 

Music — Centennial  March.    (  Panciulli )  Marine  Band 

Address — The  District  of  Columbia. 

Myron  M.  Parker,  Commissioner  District  of  Columbia 
Music — America  Marine  Band,  Grand  Chorus,  and  audience 

The  vocal  music  to  be  sung  by  a  chorus  of  fifteen  hundred  voices, 
under  the  direction  of  Professor  N.  Du  Shank  Cloward. 


Official  Programme 


25 


EVENING  CONCERT 

The  Centennial  Chimes,  from  6  to  7  p.  m. ,  to  render  the  numbers 
following-: 

1.  Change  peal  on  national  airs. 

2.  Rally  'Round  the  Flag,  Boys. 

3.  Auld  Lang  Syne. 

4.  Carry  Me  Back  to  Old  Virginny.    (  Foster. ) 

5.  Prayer  from  Der  Freischutz.    (Von  Weber.) 

6.  Oh,  Summer  Night — Don  Pasquale. 

7.  Ave  Maria.  (Schubert.) 

8.  Camptown  Races.    ( Christy. ) 

9.  Bonny  Blue  Flag. 
10.  Home  Again. 

1  [ .  Robin  Adair. 

12.  De  Beriot's  Fifth  Air. 

13.  Those  Evening  Bells.    (  Tom  Moore. ) 

14.  Home,  Sweet  Home.  (Payne.) 

15.  Old  Folks  at  Home.    (Foster. ) 

16.  Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee — Bethany. 

17.  The  Last  Rose  of  Summer.  (Moore.) 

18.  Wedding  March — Lohengrin.  (Wagner.) 

19.  Oft  in  the  Stilly  Night.    (Moore. ) 

20.  Star-Spangled  Banner.    ( Key. ) 

21.  National  peal,  change  salute,  all  the  bells  being  struck  in  unison  forty-four 

times. 

At  the  east  front  of  the  Capitol,  commencing  at  8  p.  m.,  the 
following  programme: 

1.  Grand  march — National  Capitol  Centennial.    (  Fanciulli)  Marine  Band 

2.  Chorus — The  Heavens  are  Telling  (Creation)  Grand  Centennial  Chorus 

3.  Overture — Semiramide.    (Rossini)  Marine  Band 

4.  Home,  Sweet  Home.    (Payne)  Centennial  Chorus 

5.  Monaster}- Bells.    (Vely)  Marine  Band 

6.  Coronation  Centennial  Chorus 

7.  Trip  to  Manhattan  Beach.    (Fanciulli)  Marine  Band 

8.  Hail  Columbia.    (  Fyles )  Centennial  Chorus 

9.  In  the  Clock  Store.    ( Orth )  Marine  Band 

10.  Recitation — The  Star-Spangled  Banner.    (Key)  Mr.  Chaklks  B.  Hanford 

11.  Chorus — Star-Spangled  Banner.  .  .Centennial  Chorus,  Marine  Band,  and  audience 

12.  Voyage  Comique — A  Trip  to  Mars.    (Fanciulli)  Marine  Band 

The  chimes  of  thirteen  large  bells,  from  the  McShane  Foundry, 
Baltimore,  were  stationed  on  the  top  of  the  wall  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  new  Congressional  Library  building,  and  were  oper- 
ated by  Professor  John  R.  Gibson,  of  the  Metropolitan  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  Washington,  and   Professor  Paul  Stopfer, 


26  Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 

of  St.  Alphonso  Church,  Baltimore.  The  first  concert  by  the 
chimes  began  according  to  programme,  at  9  a.  m.,  and  continued 
until  nearly  11  o'clock.    At  1  p.  m.  the  second  concert  began,  and  the 

evening  concert  began  at  6  o'clock, 
ending  with  the  "Star-Spangled 
Banner"  and  the  "National  Peal," 
a  change  salute,  all  the  thirteen 
bells  being  rung  in  unison  forty- 
four  times. 

The  vocal  music  rendered  during 
the  afternoon  and  in  the  evening  at 
the  Capitol  was  by  the  Grand  Cen- 
tennial Chorus,  of  fifteen  hundred 
adult  voices,  conducted  b\-  Professor 
N.  Du  Shane  Cloward.  Several 
weeks  preceding  the  event  Professor 
Cloward  had  divided  the  District 
into  subdivisions  and  trained  the 
subdivisions  separately,  having  one 
grand  rehearsal  of  fifteen  hundred 
voices  at  Convention  Hall  on  the 
evening  of  September  13,  1893. 

The  United  States  Marine  Band, 
Professor  Fanciulli  conductor,  ren- 
dered the  instrumental  music,  both 
at  the  afternoon  exercises  and  at  the 
evening  concert  at  the  Capitol,  and  accompanied  the  Centennial 
Chorus  on  those  occasions. 

DECORATIONS  AND  ILLUMINATION 

The  principal  decorations  at  the  Capitol  were  upon  the  central 
portion  of  the  east  front.  The  grand  stands,  extending  from  the 
north  to  the  south  wing,  or  over  the  whole  east  front  of  the  main 
building  and  old  wings,  were  draped  with  bunting,  extending 
back  to  the  cornice,  while  the  front  of  the  stands  was  hung  with 


Official  Programme  27 

American  flags,  gracefully  caught  up  at  regular  intervals  with  red, 
white,  and  blue  rosettes.  A  white  anchor  on  a  background  of  blue 
covered  the  center  of  the  main  stand,  from  which  the  orations 
were  delivered.  High  upon  the  center  of  the  main  building  were 
hung  two  large  garrison  flags,  from  which  was  suspended  the 
national  coat  of  arms.  Higher  up  still,  on  the  top  of  the  great 
white  dome,  four  large  American  flags  floated  from  horizontal 
staffs,  pointing  north,  south,  east,  and  west. 

With  the  double  purpose  of  illuminating  the  east  front  of  the 
Capitol  and  furnishing  light  for  the  evening  concert,  at  each 
corner  of  the  central  stand  was  placed  a  spray  of  twenty-four  col- 
ored globes.  Between  the  columns  of  the  main  portico  were  arches 
of  lighted  jets,  and  bands  of  jets  incased  in  globes  encircled  the  mas- 
sive pillars.  To  the  right  of  the  grand  central  stairway,  in  near 
proximity  to  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol,  was  a  large  gilded 
framework,  illuminated  by  jets  in  globes,  reading  "1793 — Wash- 
ington"," wdiile  to  the  left  of  the  central  stairway  a  similar  illu- 
mination read,  ''1893 — Cleveland." 

GRAND  STANDS 

There  were  three  grand  stands  erected  at  the  east  front  of  the 
Capitol.  The  central  one,  for  the  President,  the  orators  of  the  day, 
the  Cabinet  and  other  executive  officers,  the  Judiciary,  the  Diplo- 
matic Corps,  and  other  distinguished  guests,  covered  the  whole 
space  of  the  center  of  the  main  building  and  adjoined  the  rotunda, 
from  which  was  the  main  entrance  for  the  guests,  the  orators 
entering  from  the  southeast  front  of  the  platform.  The  capacity 
of  this  stand  exceeded  twenty-five  hundred.  To  the  north  of  this 
stand  and  adjoining  it  was  the  stand  for  the  Senate  and  House, 
under  the  control  of  the  Sergeants-at-Arms  of  those  bodies,  with 
a  seating  capacity  of  fifteen  hundred.  To  the  south  of  the  main 
stand  and  adjoining  it  was  the  grand  stand  for  the  Centennial 
Chorus,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  sixteen  hundred,  and  facing 
it  were  the  accommodations  for  the  Marine  Band.  All  of  these 
stands  were  tastefully  decorated,  as  before  described. 


28 


Capitol  C  entennial  Celebration 


STREET  DECORATIONS 

The  decorations  on  the  private  buildings  on  Pennsylvania  ave- 
nue, from  the  Capitol  to  the  White  House,  were  profuse  and 
beautiful.  From  every  window  on  each  side  of  the  street  large 
flags  and  strips  of  bunting  were  streaming,  while  many  buildings 
were  topped  with  flagstaff's  from  which  floated  the  national  colors. 
Other  streets  in  the  city  also  were  dressed  in  holiday  attire,  all  the 
enterprise  of  patriotic  private  citizens. 

CENTENNIAL  MEDAL 

A  handsome  medal  was  struck  to  commemorate  the  event.  It 
was  designed  by  Mr.  George  W.  CasilEAR,  and  struck  on  silver, 
bronze,  and  white  metal  gilded.  On  one  side  is  shown  the  east 
front  of  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States  as  of  the  date  September 
1 8,  1893.  Above  is  the  legend  "Centennial  ceremonies"  and 
below  "At  the  United  States  Capital,"  the  whole  circled  with 
forty-four  stars,  with  the  date  "Sept.  18,  1893."  On  the  obverse 
is  a  facsimile  of  the  scene  on  the  bronze  door  of  the  Senate  wing 
of  the  Capitol,  with  a  medallion  head  of  Washington,  above 
which  are  fifteen  stars,  the  whole  circled  with  the  legend 
"Laying  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol,  September  18,  1793." 
The  medal  is  suspended  by  a  red,  white,  and  blue  silk  ribbon, 
upon  a  white  silk  ribbon,  from  a  bar  formed  in  the  fashion  of  the 
fasces,  with  bands  upon  which  are  the  legend  "E  pluribus  unum. " 
A  facsimile  of  the  medal  will  be  found  facing  this  page. 

SOUVENIR  INVITATIONS 

Handsome  invitations,  two  thousand  in  number,  containing  the 
programme  of  the  exercises  at  the  Capitol,  were  prepared  under 
the  direction  of  the  Invitation  Committee  and  issued  to  distin- 
guished, guests.  Upon  the  first  exterior  page  was  a  beautiful 
engraving,  sketching  the  Capitol  as  it  appeared  in  1893  fr°m  the 
northeast,  and  the  Capitol  as  of  1851,  viewed  from  the  west, 
the  two  joined  by  an  exact  reproduction  of  Crawford's  bronze 


Official  Programme  29 

representation  of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  in  1793.  The 
last  exterior  page  was  embellished  with  an  engraving  of  the 
marble  clock  over  the  north  door  of  the  old  Hall  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  now  known  as  Statuary  Hall. 

THE  TABLET 

After  defraying  all  the  expenses  incurred  on  account  of  the  cele- 
bration, the  Citizens'  Committee  had  a  surplus  on  hand,  part  of 
which  was  appropriated  for  the  preparation  of  the  account  of 
the  proceedings  and  of  procuring  suitable  photographs  of  the 
Capitol  to  illustrate  the  book  ordered  by  the  Congress  to  be  pub- 
lished. In  addition,  the  sum  of  $900  was  appropriated  to  secure 
designs  for  and  the  casting  of  a  tablet  of  bronze  to  mark  the 
corner  stone  of  the  original  Capitol  building.  The  contract  for 
this  tablet  was  given  to  Maurice  Powers,  of  New  York,  whose 
design  was  accepted  by  the  committee,  and,  under  the  joint  reso- 
lution of  Congress,  approved  April  8,  1894  (see  pages  108-110), 
the  same  has  been  placed  upon  the  southeast  wall  of  the  north 
wing  of  the  original  building,  just  above  the  corner  stone  laid 
by  George  Washington  September  18,  1793.  A  facsimile  of 
the  bronze  tablet  will  be  seen  facing  page  109. 

The  estimated  cost  of  the  tablet  was  $1,100,  but  the  contractor 
abated  the  sum  to  $900. 

COST  OF  THE  CELEBRATION 

The  entire  expense  of  the  celebration,  as  has  been  before  said, 
was  defrayed  by  the  Citizens'  Committee.  The  total  amount 
contributed  by  voluntary  subscriptions  was  $5,300.50;  receipts 
from  the  concert  at  Convention  Hall  given  by  the  Centennial 
Chorus,  $233.30;  receipts  from  sale  of  old  material,  $34;  sales  of 
Centennial  medals  to  members  of  committee,  $457.75;  a  total  of 
$6,025.55.  The  amount  of  disbursements  for  the  celebration  up 
to  the  final  meeting  of  the  Citizens'  Committee,  April  19,  1894, 
was  $4,797.60;  leaving  a  cash  balance  on  hand  at  that  date  of 
$1,227.95.    Of  this  amount  the  sum  of  $100  was  appropriated  to 


30  Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 

reimburse  the  Veteran  Firemen's  Association  for  expenditures 
made  by  them  in  entertaining  guests  from  abroad;  $150  for  pre- 
paring the  book  and  photographs,  as  before  stated;  $900  for  the 
tablet,  and  the  remainder  for  the  expenses  incident  to  the  prepa- 
ration of  the  memorial. 


The  Parade 


31 


The  Parade 


On  the  morning  of  September  18,  1893,  at  9  o'clock,  the  cele- 
bration began  with  the  concert  by  the  Centennial  Chimes,  the 
programme  of  which  has  been  heretofore  given,  closing  a  little 
after  10  o'clock.    At    1   o'clock  - 
the  afternoon  programme  for  the 
bells  began,  lasting  until  nearly 
2    o'clock,  and 


being  completed 
just  as  President 
Cleveland  de- 
scended from  his 
carriage  to 
take  his  seat  "K 


I  upon  the  grand 
g  stand. 
^o'^H>      Long  before 
.  r>     •»  ,      the    hour  an- 


route  was  lined 
with  spectators,  and  it 
is  estimated  that  over 
one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  people  saw  the 
pageant  pass  in  review, 
while  in  the  Capitol  Grounds  and  the  adjacent  streets  there  were 
assembled  not  less  than  one  hundred  thousand  citizens. 

The  following  order  of  Chief  Marshal  Ordway  for  the  forma- 
tion  and  movement  of  the  procession  was  adhered  to  with  few 
departures: 

1.  The  chief  marshal  and  staff  will  assemble  on  Executive  avenue,  west  of  the 
Treasury  Department,  at  12.30  o'clock  p.  m. 
H.  Mis.  211  3 


34 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


2.  The  cavalry  escort  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  will  assemble  at  12.45 
o'clock  p.  111.  in  inverted  order,  facing  south,  on  the  north  side  of  Pennsylvania 
avenue,  left  resting  on  Jackson  place.  Carriages  of  orator,  Chairman  of  General 
Committee,  and  guests  on  south  side  of  Pennsylvania  avenue,  between  west  gate  of 
the  Executive  Mansion  and  the  War  Department. 

3.  The  first  division  will  assemble  at  12  o'clock  m.,  as  follows:  Alexandria  Wash- 
ington Lodge  of  Masons,  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  on  their  left, 
on  Jackson  place,  right  resting  on  Pennsylvania  avenue;  the  remainder  of  the  divi- 
sion, in  the  order  hereinafter  named,  on  the  south  side  of  Pennsylvania  avenue,  with 
the  Association  of  ( )ldest  Inhabitants  011  the  right,  resting  opposite  east  corner  of  the 
War  Department. 

4.  The  second  division  will  assemble  at  12. 15  o'clock  p.  m.  on  Seventeenth  street, 
south  of  Pennsylvania  avenue,  in  the  order  hereinafter  stated,  right  resting  on  Penn- 
sylvania avenue,  with  its  left  resting  on  New  York  avenue. 

5.  The  third  division  will  assemble  at  12.30  o'clock  p.  m.,  as  follows:  The  United 
States  artillery  and  the  United  States  Marine  Corps  on  the  north  roadway  of  the 
White  Lot,  right  resting  on  Seventeenth  street;  the  District  National  Guard  on 
the  west  and  south  roadway  of  the  White  Lot,  right  resting  at  junction  of  north 
roadway. 

6.  The  fourth  division  will  assemble  at  12.45  o'clock  p.  in.,  as  follows:  Veteran  and 
visiting  firemen  on  Lafayette  place,  right  resting  on  Pennsylvania  avenue;  the  Dis- 
trict Fire  Department  on  Fifteenth  street,  north  of  Pennsylvania  avenue,  right 
resting  on  New  York  avenue. 

7.  All  organizations  will  assemble  and  stand  in  column,  and  will  move  in  the  order 
above  stated.  In  proceeding  to  the  place  of  assembly  no  organization  except  mili- 
tary will  be  permitted  to  march  on  Pennsylvania  avenue  between  First  and  Fifteenth 
streets  after  12  o'clock  noon. 

8.  The  procession  will  move  precisely  at  1  o'clock  p.  in.  Any  organization  not  in 
column  and  ready  to  move  at  that  time  will  be  excluded. 

9.  Carriages  will  march  in  column  of  twos.  Civic  organizations  will  march  in 
column  of  fours,  with  a  distance  of  forty-four  inches  between  each  set  of  fours  and 
a  distance  of  ten  yards  between  organizations.  Military  organizations  will  march  in 
column  of  companies  or  platoons,  according  to  their  strength.  The  distance  between 
divisions  will  be  forty  yards. 

10.  The  line  of  march  will  be  as  follows:  Fifteenth  street;  Pennsylvania  avenue 
to  First  street;  through  Capitol  Grounds,  north  of  the  Capitol,  to  B  street  north- 
B  street  north  to  First  street  east;  First  street  east  to  B  street  south;  B  street  south 
to  New  Jersey7  avenue.  Organizations  will  be  dismissed  from  the  procession  on 
reaching  the  corner  of  B  street  south  and  New  Jersey  avenue.  Music  will  not 
be  permitted  to  play  on  Capitol  Hill  after  2  o'clock  p.  m. 

11.  The  organization  and  order  of  the  procession  will  be  as  follows: 

Chief  Marshal  and  staff. 
Squadron  of  United  States  cavalry. 
President  of  the  United  States. 
Orator  of  the  day. 
Governors  of  States. 
Chairman  of  General  Committee;  distinguished  guests. 
Troop  A,  District  National  Guard. 

FIRST  DIVISION 
Ralph  L.  Gai/T,  Marshal. 
Alexandria  Washington  Lodge  of  Masons. 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 
Association  of  the  Oldest  Inhabitants. 


The  Parade 


35 


Order  of  Elks. 
Knights  of  Pythias. 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 
Order  of  Red  Men. 
Knights  of  St.  Peter. 
Independent  Order  of  Rechabites  of  North  America. 
Journeymen  Stonecutters'  Association  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Capital  City  Guards. 
Butler  Infantry  Corps. 

SECOND  DIVISION 
William  P.  Young,  Marshal. 

National  Rifles. 
Society  of  the  Cincinnati. 
Sons  of  the  American  Revolution. 
Sons  of  the  Revolution. 
Society  of  Colonial  Wars. 
Aztec  Club  of  1S47. 
Veterans  of  the  Mexican  War. 
Old  Guard 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 
Sons  of  Veterans. 

THIRD  DIVISION 
General  H.  G.  Gibson,  U.  S.  A.,  Marshal. 

Battalion  of  Fourth  United  States  Artillery. 
Light  Battery  C,  Third  United  States  Artillery. 
Battalion  of  United  States  Marine  Corps. 
National  Guard  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Company  F,  Third  Regiment  Virginia  Volunteers. 

FOURTH  DIVISION 
Mr.  James  H.  Richards,  Marshal. 

Veteran  Firemen  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Veteran  Firemen  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Hydraulion  Fire  Company  of  Alexandria,  Va. 
Relief  Hook  and  Ladder  Company  of  Alexandria,  Va. 

Fire  Department  of  Frederick,  Md. 
Fire  Department  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

By  order  of  Chief  Marshal  ALBERT  Ordway: 

Ellis  Spear,  Chief  of  Staff. 


dent  Cleveland  that  the  parade  was 
formed,  and,  escorted  by  Mr.  Wilkins, 
the  President  entered  the  carriage  assigned 
to  him  and  rapidly  drove  to  his  place  in 
the  column. 


General  Albert  Ordwav,  the  Grand 


Jzy    Gardner,  Chairman  of  the  Gen- 
eral  Committee,  and  Mr.  Beriah 
I      Wilkins,  Chairman  of  the  Recep- 
tion  Committee,  reported  to  Presi- 


T  12.45  "'clock  Mr.  Lawrence 


Marshal,  then  rode  to  the  front  of  the  column,  and  the  parade 
marched  down  Fifteenth  street  to  Pennsylvania  avenue,  thence  to 
the  Capitol,  over  the  designated  route,  in  the  following  order: 

General  Albert  Ordway,  Chief  Marshal  ;  General  Ellis  Spear,  Chief  of  Staff, 
and  the  aids  heretofore  named. 

United  States  cavalry,  Colonel  Guy  V.  Henry  commanding  : 
Troop  A,  First  United  States  Cavalry,  Captain  Bom  as. 
Troop  H,  Eighth  United  States  Cavalry,  Lieutenant  STEELE. 
Troop  F,  Seventh  United  States  Cavalry,  Captain  Bell. 
Troop  K,  Ninth  United  States  Cavalry,  Captain  Hughes. 
Colonel  H.  C.  Corbin,  U.  S.  A.,  and  Captain  George  C.  Schriver,  U.  S.  A., 
special  aids. 

The  President  of  the  United  States,  Chairman  of  Ceremonies,  in  carriage  with  Mr. 
Beriah  Wilkins,  Chairman  of  Committee  on  Reception. 

William  Wirt  Henry,  orator  of  the  day,  escorted  by  Mr.  Lawrence  Gard- 
ner, Chairman  of  the  General  Committee. 

The  Secretary  of  State,  escorted  by  Dr.  J.  M.  Toner  and  Mr.  William  B.  Webb. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  escorted  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Babson  and  Mr.  Matthew 
G.  Emery. 

The  Attorney-General,  escorted  by  General  S.  S.  HenklE  and  Mr.  Henry  Wise 
Garnett. 

The  Postmaster-General,  escorted  by  Mr.  Charles  C.  Glover  and  Dr.  William 
Tindall. 

The  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  escorted  by  Mr.  .Simon  Wolf  and  Mr.  H.  W.  Sohon. 

The  Right  Reverend  William  Paret,  Bishop  of  Maryland,  escorted  by  Mr. 
A.  R.  Spofford  and  Mr.  E.  B.  Hay. 

The  Justices  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  escorted  by  Messrs.  Enoch 
Totten,  Chapin  Brown,  William  F.  Mattingly,  and  A.  S.  Worthington. 

The  Joint  Committee  of  Congress,  escorted  by  Messrs.  B.  H.  Warner,  Isadore 


The  Parade 


37 


Saks,  Marshall  W.  WineS,  Harrison  Dingman,  and  L.  C.  Williamson. 

The  Commissioners  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  escorted  by  Mr.  M.  I.  Weller. 
The  Court  of  Appeals,  District  of  Columbia. 
The  Supreme  Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

The  Governor  of  Maryland  and  the  Governor  of  Rhode  Island,  escorted  by  Mr. 
F.  A.  Lehman  and  Mr.  A.  F.  SpKRRY. 
Troop  A,  District  National  Guard. 

FIRvST  DIVISION. 
Ralph  L.  GalT,  Marshal,  and  aids. 

Association  of  the  Oldest  Inhabitants,  E.  R.  McKkan,  Marshal. 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Dr.  T.  J.  Jonks,  Marshal: 

Grand  Encampment. 

Subordinate  Encampment. 

Grand  Lodge. 

Subordinate  Dodge. 

Grand  Canton,  No.  i,  of  Baltimore,  Md. 

Monumental  Canton,  of  Baltimore,  Md. 

Zimmerman  Canton,  of  Baltimore,  Md. 
Uniform  Rank  Knights  of  Pythias,  Colonel  H.  C.  Coggin  commanding. 
Benevolent  Order  of  Elks,  Samuel  King,  Marshal: 

Washington  Lodge,  No.  15. 

Baltimore  Lodge,  No.  7. 
Order  of  Red  Men,  John  C.  Dunning,  Marshal. 

United  Order  of  American  Mechanics,  John  D.  Schofield,  Marshal. 
Junior  Order  of  American  Mechanics,  W.  W.  BoswELL,  Marshal. 
Sons  of  Jonadab. 

Independent  Order  of  Rechabites: 

Senior  Order,  J.  Adams,  Marshal. 

Junior  Order,  John  R.  Mahony,  Marshal. 
Capital  City  Guards. 
Butler  Cadets. 

SECOND  DIVISION 
William  P.  Young,  Marshal,  and  aids. 
National  Rifles,  Captain  James  F.  Oyster  commanding. 

Officers  of  the  General  Society  and  officers  of  the  State  and  District  societies  of 
the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution,  in  carriages.  They  were:  General  Horace 
Porter,  of  New  York,  President-General;  General  J.  C.  Breckinridge,  U.  S.  A., 
Vice-President-General;  Hon.  Franklin  Murphy,  of  New  York,  Secretary-Gen- 
eral; Mr.  C.  W.  Haskins,  of  New  York,  Treasurer-General;  Mr.  A.  Howard 
Clarke,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  Registrar-General;  Rev.  Dr.  Randolph  McKim, 
of  Washington,  D.  C,  chaplain;  Mr.  E.  M.  Gallaudet,  of  Washington,  D.  C, 
President  of  the  District  of  Columbia  society;  Judge  John  Goode,  of  Virginia; 
Hon.  Henry  M.  Shepard,  President  of  the  society  in  Illinois ;  Hon.  E.  C. 
Cabell,  President  of  the  society  in  Missouri  ;  Mr.  Alexander  Hamilton,  of 
New  York. 

Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  in  carriages,  by  the  following  committee:  Hon.  Asa 
Bird  Gardiner,  LL.D.,  Secretary-General;  Hon.  Clifford  Stanley,  of  New 
Jersey;  Colonel  George  B.  Sanford,  U.  S.  A.;  Mr.  John  Cropper,  New  York; 
Hon.  William  Wayne,  Pennsylvania;  Hon.  William  B.  Webb,  LL.D.,  Maryland; 


38 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


General  GEORGE  Dohkrtv  Johnson,  South  Carolina;  Hon.  WlUlAM  I).  HAR- 
DEN, Georgia;  Mr.  OSCEOLA  C.  GREKN,  Maryland;  Mr.  HENRY  Randall  WEBB, 
Maryland,  and  Mr.  William  MacPhERSON  Hornor,  Pennsylvania. 

Sons  of  the  Revolution. 

Society  of  Colonial  Wars. 

Sons  of  the  American  Revolution,  Hon.  John  W.  Douglass,  Marshal. 
The  Old  Guard. 

The  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  Junior  Vice-Commander  B.  T.  Janney  com- 
manding. 

John  A.  Rawlins  Post,  No.  i,  S.  W.  Tuley  commanding. 
Kit  Carson  Post,  No.  2,  A.  Hart  commanding. 
George  G.  Meade  Post,  No.  5,  E.  C.  Crumley  commanding. 
Lincoln  Post,  No.  3,  Daniel  Williams  commanding. 
John  F.  Reynolds  Post,  No.  6,  W.  N.  Thomas  commanding. 
J.  A.  Garfield  Post,  No.  7,  T.  R.  Senior  commanding. 
O.  P.  Morton  Post,  No.  7,  WALTER  Middlf.Ton  commanding. 
Farragut  Post,  No.  10,  A.  B.  Hurlbi'RT  commanding. 
Charles  P.  Stone  Post,  No.  11,  W.  H.  Hoover  commanding. 
George  W.  Morris  Post,  No.  19,  Samuel  McGonnigle  commanding. 
Sheridan  Post,  No.  14,  H.  E.  RurTon  commanding. 
George  H.  Somers  Post,  No.  15,  B.  FULLER  commanding. 
George  H.  Thomas  Post,  No.  13,  A.  B.  Frisbie  commanding. 
Henry  Wilson  Post,  No.  17,  W.  S.  DEERE  commanding. 
Sons  of  Veterans,  Charles  Conrad  commanding: 
John  A.  Logan  Post,  No.  2. 

THIRD  DIVISION 
General  H.  G.  Gibson,  U.  S.  A.,  Marshal,  and  aids. 
Fourth  Artillery  Band. 

Companies  M,  I,  and  A,  Fourth  United  States  Artillery,  Captain  FuGER,  U.  S.  A., 
commanding  battalion. 

Marine  Band,  Professor  Fanciulli,  Director. 

Marine  Corps,  four  companies,  Lieutenant  H.  K.  White  commanding  battalion. 
District  National  Guard,  Colonel  Cecil  Clay  commanding,  and  staff: 

Schroeder's  National  Guard  Band. 

Engineer  Corps,  Lieutenant  F.  S.  Averill. 

First  Regiment  of  Infantry,  Colonel  William  G.  Moore  commanding  and 
staff. 

First  Battalion  (Light  Infantry),  Major  Burton  R.  Ross,  commanding: 

Company  A,  Captain  C.  M.  LoEFFLER. 

Company  B,  Captain  C.  M.  ShrEVE. 

Company  C,  Captain  C.  H.  Ourand. 

Company  D,  Captain  John  S.  Miller. 
Second  Battalion,  Major  R.  A.  O'Brien  commanding: 

Company  A,  Corcoran  Cadets,  Captain  E.  C.  Edwards. 

Company  B,  Morton  Cadets,  Captain  L.  H.  REICHELFELDER. 

Company  C,  National  Fencibles,  Captain  C.  S.  DoMER. 

Company  D,  High  School  Cadets,  Captain  R.  H.  VouNG. 

War  Department  Guards,  Captain  F.  T.  Wilson. 
Second  Regiment  of  Infantry,  Lieutenant-Colonel  M.  Emmett  Urell  com- 
manding and  staff. 


The  Parade 


39 


Fourth  Battalion,  Major  E.  R.  Campbell  commanding: 

Company  A,  Emmet  Guards,  Captain  Harry  Walsh. 

Company  B,  Columbian  Guards,  Lieutenant  J.  F.  Kklia. 

Company  I),  Ordway  Rifles,  Captain  J.  M.  Williams. 
Fifth  Battalion,  Major  Otto  L.  Suess  commanding: 

Company  A,  Captain  W.  J.  Simmons. 

Company  B,  Captain  Fabian  Columbus. 

Company  C,  Lieutenant  SwiCART. 

Company  C,  Lieutenant  G.  W.  England. 
Sixth  Battalion,  Captain  J.  A.  Salmon  commanding: 

Company  A,  Captain  John  W.  Parsons. 

Company  B.  Captain  J.  S.  Tomlinson. 

Company  C,  Captain  E.  I).  SmooT. 

Company  D,  Lieutenant  H.  L.  B.  Ackkrson. 
Battery  A,  Captain  H.  G.  Forsberg  commanding. 
Ambulance  Corps,  Lieutenants  J.  A.  Watson  and  D.  S.  Verdi. 
Bicycle  Corps,  Captain  C.  B.  Story. 

FOURTH  DIVISION 

Colonel  James  II.  Richards,  Marshal. 
Laurel  Military  Band. 

Washington  Veteran  Firemen,  with  engine  and  hose  wagon,  John  Thompson. 
Foreman. 

Freeport  Cornet  Band. 

Brooklyn  Veteran  Firemen,  J.  H.  Berger,  Marshal. 

Alexandria  Hydraulion  and  Relief  Company,  with  engine,  hose  carriage,  and 
fuel  wagon.  Sergeant  Crouse  commanding. 

Alexandria  Hook  and  Ladder  Company,  R.  M.  Latham,  Foreman. 
District  Fire  Department,  Chief  Parris  and  Assistant  Chief  BELT. 
Engines  and  hose  carriages: 

No.  i. 

No.  2. 

No.  4. 

No.  6. 

No.  7. 

Truck  A. 

Fuel  and  supply  wagons. 
Battalion  Mounted  Police. 


At  the  Capitol 


41 


At  the  Capitol 


Long  before  the  appointed  hour  for  the  commencement  of  the 
exercises  at  the  Capitol,  the  invited  guests,  who  were  received  at 
the  east  door  of  the  Rotunda  by  General  DUNCAN  S.  Walker, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Invitations,  and  his  assistants, 
began  to  arrive  and  were  shown  to  their  seats  upon  the  grand 

Besides  the  President  and  the  orators  of 


23*^^44,  stand 


the  day,  the  Cabinet,  the  Justices  of  the  Su- 
x        preme  Court,  Chiefs  of   Bureaus   in  the 


Executive  Departments,  distinguished 
officers  of  the  Armv  and 


Navy,  members 


of  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  and  other  eminent  persons,  numbering 
two  thousand,  had  been  invited,  and  the  stand  was  filled  to 
its  utmost  capacity. 

At  a  few  minutes  before  2  o'clock,  the  Senate,  in  a  body,  pre- 
ceded by  its  President,  Sergeant-at-Arms,  Secretary,  and  Door- 
keeper, passed  through  the  Rotunda  and  entered  the  stand  to 
the  north,  provided  for  the  Congress. 

43 


44  Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 

Almost  immediately  afterwards  the  House  of  Representatives, 
preceded  by  its  Speaker,  Clerk,  Sergeant-at-Arms,  and  Door- 
keeper, passed  through  the  east  door  of  the  Rotunda  and  took 
the  seats  assigned  them  on  the  north  stand. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  Joint  Committee  of  Congress  appeared 
upon  the  grand  stand,  and  as  the  head  of  the  column  arrived, 
President  CLEVELAND,  who  was  to  act  as  the  Chairman  of  Cere- 
monies, the  Right  Reverend  the  Bishop  of  Maryland,  and  the 
orators  of  the  day,  escorted  by  members  of  the  Citizens'  Com- 
mittee, alighted  from  their  carriages  and  took  seats  in  the  front 
of  the  central  stand,  welcomed  by  a  great  shout  arising  from  one 
hundred  thousand  throats. 

Already  Professor  Cloward  had  occupied  the  south  stand  with 
his  fifteen  hundred  choristers.  The  Marine  Band,  Professor  Fan- 
CiULLi,  had  been  unavoidably  detained  for  a  few  moments,  due 
to  the  fact  that  they  marched  in  the  parade  at  the  head  of  the 
Marine  Corps.  In  the  meantime  the  chimes  at  the  Congressional 
Library  building,  directly  in  front  of  the  grounds,  rang  out  a 
merry  peal,  while  the  crowd  cheered  again  and  again. 

THE  INVOCATION 

The  Chairman  of  the  Citizens'  Committee  arose,  and  by  his 
gestures  commanded  silence.  The  assemblage  obeyed,  and  at  2.07 
p.  m.  the  Right  Reverend  William  Paret,  Bishop  of  Mary- 
land, vested  in  his  episcopal  robes,  advanced  to  the  front  of 
the  platform  and  made  the  invocation,  as  follows: 

Direct  us,  O  Lord,  in  all  our  doings  with  Thy  most  gracious  favor, 
and  further  us  with  Thy  continual  help;  that  in  all  our  works  begun, 
continued,  and  ended  in  Thee  we  may  glorify  Thy  holy  Name,  and 
finally,  by  Thy  mercy,  obtain  everlasting  life,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord.  Amen. 

Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy  Name.  Thy  king- 
dom come.  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven.  Give  us 
this  da>-  our  daily  bread.  And  forgive  us  our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive 
those  who  trespass  against  us.  And  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but 
deliver  us  from  evil:  For  Thine  is  the  kingdom  and  the  power  and  the 
glory,  for  ever  and  ever.    A  men. 


At  the  C  'apitol 


45 


Almighty  God,  whose  kingdom  is  everlasting-  and  power  infinite,  have 
mercy  upon  this  whole  land;  and  so  rule  the  hearts  of  Thy  servants,  the 
President  of  the  United  States  and  all  others  in  authority,  that  they, 
knowing  whose  ministers  they  are,  may  above  all  things  seek  Thine 
honor  and  glory;  and  that  we  and  all  the  people,  duly  considering  whose 
authority  they  bear,  may  faithfully  and  obediently  honor  them,  in  Thee, 
and  for  Thee,  according  to  Thy  blessed  Word  and  ordinance;  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  who.  with  Thee  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  liveth  and 
reigneth,  ever  one  God,  world  without  end.  Amen. 

Most  gracious  God,  we  humbly  beseech  Thee,  as  for  the  people  of 
these  United  States  in  general,  so  especially  for  their  Senate  and 
Representatives  in  Congress  assembled,  that  Thou  wouldst  be  pleased 
to  direct  and  prosper  all  their  consultations,  to  the  advancement  of 
Thy  glory,  the  good  of  Thy  church,  the  safety,  honor,  and  welfare 
of  Thy  people;  that  all  things  may  be  so  ordered  and  settled  by  their 
endeavors,  upon  the  best  and  surest  foundations,  that  peace  and  happi- 
ness, truth  and  justice,  religion  and  piety,  may  be  established  among 
us  for  all  generations.  These  and  all  other  necessaries,  for  them,  for 
us,  and  Thy  whole  church,  we  humbly  beg  in  the  name  and  mediation 
of  Jesus  Christ  our  most  blessed  Lord  and  Savior.  Amen. 

Almighty  Father,  from  whose  goodness  it  comes  that  this  house  has 
been  and  is  the  center  of  a  powerful  and  happy  nation,  most  heartily  we 
thank  Thee  for  all  Thy  loving  providences  to  these  United  States:  And 
this  day  especially,  that  Thou  hast  so  guided  the  wisdom  and  overruled 
all  the  errors  and  prejudices  of  our  great  national  counsels  and  decisions 
for  these  one  hundred  years.  Accept  our  thankfulness,  we  beseech 
Thee,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Amen. 

O  God,  who  holdest  in  Thy  hand,  but  hidest  from  us,  all  the  issues  of 
the  future  years,  we  beseech  Thee  to  continue  over  these  United  States 
Thy  watchful  and  restraining  love.  Guide  our  statesmen  and  our 
magistrates  and  judges  to  all  that  is  needful  for  us,  in  peace  and 
truth  and  righteousness.  Restrain  them,  we  beseech  Thee,  from  all 
injustice,  oppression,  or  wrong.  May  the  truth  and  justice  of  God  and 
the  welfare  of  the  people  rule  all  their  actions. 

And  if  it  be  Thy  will  that  at  the  end  of  another  century  these  walls 
shall  still  be  standing,  grant  that  they  may  stand  with  our  nation's 
truth  and  honor  steadfast  and  untarnished. 

All  which  we  ask  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Amen. 

The  Grand  Centennial  Chorus,  accompanied  by  the  United  States 
Marine  Baud,  then  sang  the  "Te  Deuni. " 


46 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


CHAIRMAN  GARDNER'S  INTRODUCTION 

Air.  L/AWRENCE  GARDNER,  Chairman  of  the  Citizens'  Committee, 
then  spoke  as  follows: 

One  hundred  years  ago  George  Washington,  the  first  President  of 
the  United  States,  standing  on  this  hillside,  then  almost  a  wilderness, 
laid  the  corner  stone  of  the  permanent  home  of  Congress,  in  whose 
majestic  shadow  we  are  now  assembled.  Our  written  Constitution, 
the  beacon  light  of  every  freeman,  was  then  but  an  experiment,  of 
which  the  creation  of  a  national  capital,  under  the  exclusive  control 
of  the  legislature,  was  the  most  novel  feature.    Washington  City  was 


in  numbers,  but  strong  in  that  faith  that  overcometh  all  human 
obstacles. 

As  the  country  grew,  so  grew  its  Capitol,  year  by  year,  stone  upon 
stone,  until,  on  this  its  hundredth  anniversary,  it  shows  forth  the  most 
magnificent  structure  of  any  age,  crowning  the  most  beautiful  city  of 
the  world. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  as  we  now 
commemorate  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  your  legislative  home, 
it  is  meet  to  give  thanks  for  the  preeminent  part  taken  by  Congress 
in  the  wonderful  development  of  the  system  of  government  to  which 
the  United  States  owes  its  sure  and  rapid  advancement. 


a  name;  the  United  States  a 
federation  of  fifteen  States, 
sparsely  populated,  bounded 
on  the  west  by  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  with  no  port  upon 
the  great  Gulf. 


How  conditions  have 
changed  since  Washing- 
ton last  stood  near  this 
hallowed  spot!  To-day  the 
population  of  the  country 
exceeds  that  of  any  English- 


j  speaking  people;  its  area 
'  has  been  enlarged  from 
927,000  to  3,604,000  square 
miles;  its  boundaries  are 
washed  by  the  two  great 
oceans.  To-day  we  more 
than  realize  the  hope  here 
expressed  by  Washington, 
before  an  assemblage  small 


At  the  Capitol 


47 


To  Congress  the  country  is  indebted  for  the  fundamental  acts  which 
rounded  out  the  frame  of  the  organic  law  and  gave  life  and  vigor  to 
all  its  parts.  A  study  of  the  history  of  legislative  bodies  in  all  lands 
and  times  will  disclose  none  the  superior  of  the  American  Congress, 
whether  in  intelligence,  patriotism,  or  in  purity  of  purpose. 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  will  not  detain  you  longer.  Under  the 
direction  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  Congress  I  have  now  the  pleas- 
ure of  introducing  to  you  as  Chairman  of  Ceremonies  the  worthy 
successor  of  Washington',  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Grovek 
Cleveland. 

PRESIDENT  CLEVELAND'S  ADDRESS 

As  President  CLEVELAND,  the  Chairman  of  Ceremonies,  arose 
and  removed  his  hat,  taking  his  stand  near  the  familiar  spot 
occupied  by  him  twice  before  on  the  occasion  of  his  first  and 
second  inaugural  addresses,  the  crowd  in  front  broke  into  a  cheer 
which  was  taken  up  by  the  vast  throngs  beyond. 

The  President  said: 

While  I  accept  with  much  satisfaction  the  part  assigned  to  me  on 
this  occasion,  I  can  not  escape  the  sober  reflections  which  these  cere- 
monies suggest.  Those  who  suppose  that  we  are  simply  engaged  in 
commemorating  the  beginning  of  a  magnificent  structure  devoted  to 
important  public  uses  have  overlooked  the  most  useful  and  improving 
lesson  of  the  hour.  We  do  indeed  celebrate  the  laying  of  a  corner 
stone  from  which  has  sprung  the  splendid  edifice  whose  grand  propor- 
tions arouse  the  pride  of  every  American  citizen,  but  our  celebration 
is  chiefly  valuable  and  significant  because  this  edifice  was  designed 
and  planned  by  great  and  good  men  as  a  place  where  the  principles 
of  a  free  representative  government  should  be  developed  in  patriotic 
legislation  for  the  benefit  of  free  people.  If  representatives  who  here 
assemble  to  make  laws  for  their  fellow-countrymen  forget  the  duty  of 
broad  and  disinterested  patriotism  and  legislate  in  prejudice  and  pas- 
sion or  in  behalf  of  sectional  and  selfish  interests,  the  time  when  the 
corner  stone  of  our  Capitol  was  laid  and  the  circumstances  surrounding 
it  will  not  be  worth  commemorating. 

The  sentiment  and  the  traditions  connected  with  this  structure  and 
its  uses  belong  to  all  the  people  of  the  laud.  They  are  most  valuable 
as  reminders  of  patriotism  in  the  discharge  of  public  duty  and  stead- 
fastness in  many  a  struggle  for  the  public  good.  They  also  furnish 
a  standard  by  which  our  people  may  measure  the  conduct  of  those 
chosen  to  serve  them.  The  inexorable  application  of  this  standard 
will  always  supply  proof  that  our  countrymen  realize  the  value  of  the 
free  institutions  which  were  designed  and  built  by  those  who  laid  the 


48 


C  apilol  Centennial  Celebration 


corner  stone  of  their  Capitol,  and  that  they  appreciate  the  necessity  of 
constant  and  jealous  watchfulness  as  a  condition  indispensable  to  the 
preservation  of  these  institutions  in  their  purity  and  integrity. 

I  believe  our  fellow-citizens  have  no  greater  nor  better  cause  for 
rejoicing  on  this  centennial  than  is  found  in  the  assurance  that  their 
public  servants  who  assemble  in  these  halls  will  watch  and  guard  the 
sentiment  and  traditions  that  gather  around  this  celebration,  and  that 
in  the  days  to  come  those  who  shall  again  commemorate  the  laying  of 
the  corner  stone  of  their  nation's  Capitol  will  find  in  the  recital  of  our 
performance  of  public  duty  no  less  reason  for  enthusiasm  and  congrat- 
ulation than  we  find  in  recalling  the  wisdom  and  virtue  of  those  who 
have  preceded  us. 

When  the  Chairman  of  Ceremonies  concluded  his  address  the 
cheering  was  prolonged,  and  only  ceased  when  the  Marine  Band 
rendered  selections  from  1 '  Lakme. ' ' 

WILLIAM  WIRT  HENRY'S  ORATION 

The  Chairman  of  Ceremonies,  President  Cleveland,  then  arose 
and  briefly  introduced  the  orator  of  the  day,  Mr.  William  Wirt 
Henry,  of  Virginia,  as  the  able  and  eloquent  descendant  of 
Patrick  Henry. 

Mr.  Henry  then  spoke  as  follows: 

Fellow-Citizens  of  the  United  States:  The  exercises  of  to-day 
are  a  fitting  close  of  the  series  of  centennial  celebrations  of  the  most 
important  events  in  our  Revolutionary  history.  Celebrations  which 
have  presented  vividly  to  the  present  generation  the  courage  of  our 
ancestors  in  winning  our  liberties,  and  their  wisdom  in  forming  a 
system  of  government  which  has  proved  a  safeguard  of  the  invaluable 
possession.  From  the  skirmish  at  Lexington  on  April  19,  1775,  when 
the  immedicabile  vulnus  was  inflicted  which  finally  severed  the  ligament 
binding  the  Colonies  to  the  mother  country,  to  April  30,  1789,  when 
Washington  was  inaugurated  as  the  first  President  under  the  Federal 
Constitution,  the  most  important  events  have  been  made  to  pass  in 
panorama  before  our  eyes.  The  attention  of  the  world  has  been  more 
closely  attracted  by  us,  and  American  history  has  assumed  its  proper 
position  in  the  forefront,  where  it  is  destined  to  remain  as  the  great 
teacher  of  advanced  civilization.  And  now  it  becomes  us  to  celebrate 
the  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  this  mag- 
nificent Capitol,  the  permanent  home  of  the  Government  of  this  great 
nation,  and  thus  to  complete  the  roll  call  of  the  events  which  estab- 
lished us  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 


At  the  C  apttol 


49 


In  looking  back  upon  these  events  how  insignificant  they  appeared 
at  the  time  to  the  outside  world!  Our  battles  were  but  skirmishes 
as  compared  with  the  engagements  of  the  vast  armies  which  had  red- 
dened the  soil  of  Europe  and  Asia  in  their  conflicts.  Our  Declaration 
of  Independence  was  but  brutum  fulmen  unless  sustained  by  force  of 
arms,  which  was  believed  to  be  beyond  our  power.  Our  first  union  was 
held  by  a  rope  of  sand,  and  even  our  Federal  Constitution,  dependent 
as  it  was  upon  popular  will,  was  an  experiment  with  a  divided  people — 
divided  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  plan,  and  divided  as  to  the  construction 
of  the  instrument.  It  was  confidently  predicted  by  the  enemies  of  our 
free  institutions  that  our  experiment  would  prove  a  miserable 
failure,  and  that  but  a  short  distance  would  intervene  between  its 
cradle  and  its  grave. 

But  how  different  the  scene  of  to-day! 
What  grand  results  have  followed  from 
our  despised  beginnings!  For  more  than  a 
century  we  have  demonstrated,  as  no 
other  people  have  ever  done  before,  our 
capacity  for  self-government.  Our  Federal 
system  has  been  tested  in  peace  and  in 
war,  and  by  violent  forces  from  without 
and  within,  yet  every  fiber  has  stood  the 
strain,  and  its  perfect  adaptation  to  our 
needs  under  all  circumstances  has  been 
demonstrated.  Yea,  more;  already  the 
hope  of  our  fathers  as  to  the  effect  of 
our  free  institutions  upon  the  human  race  j  ]  i^llll  If 

has  been  wonderfully  realized.    That  hope      \  \ 
was  expressed  by  James  Wilson  in  the  Pennsylvania  Convention 
which  adopted  the  Constitution  when  he  said: 

By  adopting  this  system  we  shall  probably  lay  a  foundation  for  erecting 
temples  of  liberty  in  every  part  of  the  earth.  It  has  been  thought  by  many 
that  on  the  success  of  the  struggle  America  has  made  for  freedom  will  depend 
the  exertions  of  the  brave  and  enlightened  of  other  nations.  The  advantages 
resulting  from  this  system  will  not  be  confined  to  the  United  States,  but  will 
draw  from  Europe  many  worthy  characters  who  pant  for  the  enjoyment  of 
freedom.  It  will  induce  princes,  in  order  to  preserve  their  subjects,  to  restore  to 
them  a  portion  of  that  liberty  of  which  they  have  for  many  ages  been  deprived. 
It  will  be  subservient  to  the  great  designs  of  Providence  with  regard  to  this 
globe — the  multiplication  of  mankind,  their  improvement  in  knowledge  and 
their  advancement  in  happiness. 

It  takes  but  a  cursors*  view  of  the  present  condition  of  the  people 
of  Christendom  to  recognize  the  liberalizing  effect  of  our  Government 
upon  their  civil  institutions.  It  has  been  well  said  by  a  late  writer 
that  ' '  at  the  close  of  the  American  Revolution  there  was  in  the  Old 
World  only  one  free  nation  and  no  democracy.  In  Europe  there 
H.  Mis.  2 1 1  4 


5o 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


now  remain  but  two  strong  monarchies— those  of  Russia  and  Prussia — 
while  America,  scarcely  excepting  Brazil  and  Canada,  is  entirely  (at 
least  in  name)  republican."  Since  he  wrote  Brazil  has  dethroned  her 
king  and  adopted  a  republican  form  of  government,  and  there  is  a 
strong  movement  in  Canada  toward  union  with  the  United  States. 
But  while  other  nations  have  followed  more  or  less  closely  in  onr 
footsteps,  striving  to  enjoy  our  freedom,  how  wonderful  has  been 
our  progress  in  all  that  makes  a  nation  great!  When  we  consider  the 
enlarged  extent  of  our  territory,  the  increase  of  our  population,  our 
progress  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  in  commerce,  in  wealth,  and  in 
knowledge,  we  are  forced  to  exclaim,  "  God  has  blessed  us,  and  has 
made  His  face  to  shine  upon  us!" 

With  the  history  of  this  progress  this  Capitol  has  been  intimately 
connected.  Here  the  Chief  Executives  of  the  nation  have  taken  the 
oath  of  office  and  made  their  communications  to  Congress.  Here  the 
wise  men  of  the  nation  have  discussed  and  formulated  the  great  meas- 
ures of  internal  and  external  policy  which  have  placed  us  in  the  front 
rank  of  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Here  treaties  with  foreign  nations 
have  been  confirmed.  Here  territory  has  been  annexed,  out  of  which 
new  States  have  been  constituted,  until,  instead  of  fifteen  States  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  we  have  stretched  across  the  continent,  and  now 
number  forty- four  States,  whose  eastern  and  western  shores  are  washed 
by  the  great  oceans  on  whose  bosoms  our  commerce  is  borne  to  every 
quarter  of  the  globe.  Here  our  Supreme  Court  has  been  seated,  the 
most  important  tribunal  which  has  ever  existed,  and  great  jurists  have 
decided  grave  questions  between  the  States,  and  have  construed  our 
system  of  government,  defining  and  limiting  the  powers  of  each 
department  and  confining  it  to  its  appropriate  sphere.  Here  repre- 
sentatives of  foreign  nations  have  watched  the  working  of  our  free 
institutions,  and  have  realized  the  capacity  of  man  for  self-government. 

When  we  remember  the  great  men  who  have  shed  luster  on  this 
Capitol  during  the  past  century,  as  Presidents,  legislators,  and  jurists, 
we  can  justly  claim  an  eminence  for  our  Republic  which  has  not  been 
excelled,  if  ever  equaled,  by  any  other  nation  of  this  or  an}-  other  age. 

Nor  has  this  city,  located  by  Washington  and  bearing  his  honored 
name,  failed  to  realize  the  expectation  of  its  founder  that  it  would 
become  the  fitting  capital  of  a  great  nation.  It  is  now  justly  claimed 
to  be  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  attractive  of  the  capitals  of  the 
world.  Within  the  century,  the  scoffing  lines  of  the  poet  have  become 
a  splendid  reality.  Could  he,  who  in  1804  wrote  of  the  scattered 
village— 

This  embryo  capital,  where  fancy  sees 
Squares  in  morasses,  obelisks  in  trees; 
Which  second-sighted  seers  even  now  adorn 
With  shrines  unbuilt,  and  heroes  yet  unborn — 


At  the  Capitol 


51 


look  upon  this  city  to-day,  with  its  quarter  of  a  million  of  inhabitants, 
its  beautiful  streets  and  squares  bordered  with  costly  residences,  its 
splendid  monuments  and  its  magnificent  public  buildings,  he  would 
realize  that  the  "fancies  of  the  second-sighted  seers"  of  his  day  have 
been  more  than  fulfilled  as  real  prophecies. 

As  I  stand  here  on  this  commemoration  day,  two  periods  in  the 
history  of  this  building  rise  prominent  to  my  view;  the  first,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  century  which  ends  to-day.  I  behold  a  country  not 
yet  recovered  from  the  exhaustion  of  the  war  which  established  its  inde- 
pendence; with  a  new  system  of  government  not  sufficiently  tried  to 
overcome  the  friction  of  its  machinery,  nor  to  insure  its  stability 
and  its  capacity  to  check  the  spirit  of  anarchy  which  had  been  so 
strongly  manifested  in  the  nation,  and  had  so  seriously  threatened 
the  dissolution  of  the  Union;  with  a 
revenue  inadequate  to  meet  its  liabil- 
ities; without  sufficient  strength  to  force 
England  to  comply  with  the  terms  of 
her  treaty  and  surrender  the  military 
posts  on  the  Great  Lakes,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence suffering  the  cruel  effects  of 
an  Indian  war  believed  to  have  been 
instigated  by  the  British  commanders; 
with  Spain  plotting  to  get  a  foothold 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  by  refusing 
to  the  United  States  the  free  naviga- 
tion of  that  river,  whose  mouth  she 
held,  and  offering  it  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  valley  as  the  price  of  their  leav- 
ing the  Union  and  casting  their  lot 
with  her;  with  open  opposition  to  the 
excise  law  of  Congress,  assuming  the 
form  of  an  insurrection  in  west  Pennsylvania;  but  above  all  with  the 
almost  maddening  effect  upon  the  people  of  the  French  Revolution, 
followed  by  war  between  France  and  England,  which  was  threatening 
to  engulf  the  newly  launched  American  ship  of  state  in  the  mael- 
strom of  European  wars.  I  see  the  calm  figure  of  Washington 
holding  firmly  the  helm  of  state  as  he  steers  it  amidst  the  storm, 
and  with  that  unfaltering  faith  in  the  future  of  his  country  which 
had  nerved  him  to  be  her  deliverer  in  her  darkest  hours  of  trial, 
coming  to  this  spot  to  lay  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol  of  the 
nation  he  had  created,  and  which  he  firmly  believed  would  be  not 
only  the  freest  but  one  of  the  greatest  which  the  world  had  ever 
known.  Behold  that  majestic  form,  erect,  though  burdened  with  the 
cares  of  state,  and  carrying  the  weight  of  over  three-score  years, 


52 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


attired  with  the  simple  emblems  of  masonry,  descending  into  the 
trench  and  laying  his  hand  on  the  corner  stone  on  which  was  to  be 
erected  the  permanent  Capitol  of  the  United  States  of  America;  a 
foreshadowing  of  the  time,  near  at  hand,  when,  divested  of  all  earthly 
cares,  he  was  to  descend  into  the  tomb,  laying  his  hand  of  faith  on 
the  corner  stone  not  laid  with  hands,  on  which  was  to  be  reared  his 
eternal  mansion  in  the  heavens. 

Bnt  the  scene  changes.  More  than  a  half  century  has  passed,  during 
which  we  have  engaged  in  two  wars,  one  with  England,  in  which  we 
contested  her  sovereignty  of  the  seas,  and  the  other  with  Mexico, 
resulting  in  a  large  accession  to  onr  western  territory,  already  greatly 
enlarged  by  treaty.  In  the  meanwhile  portentous  questions  have  arisen 
between  the  Northern  and  Southern  States,  threatening  a  dissolution 
of  the  Union.  African  slavery,  that  baneful  legacy  of  our  mother 
country,  had  been  cast  out  of  the  Northern  States,  where  it  had 
ceased  to  be  profitable,  and  had  become  more  deeply  rooted  in  the 
Southern  States,  whose  climate  and  agricultural  system  were  better 
suited  to  its  existence.  A  bitter  contest  had  consequently  sprung  up 
between  the  sections  over  the  balance  of  power  in  the  administration 
of  the  Federal  Government.  This  was  made  the  more  alarming  by 
the  radical  difference  in  the  constructions  given  to  the  Federal  system. 
By  the  one  party  it  was  held  to  be  a  government  of  a  nation,  and 
that  by  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution  each  State  had  merged 
a  part  of  its  sovereignty  into  that  of  the  whole,  which  could  not  be 
recalled  except  by  successful  revolution.  By  the  other  party  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution  was  held  to  be  a  compact  between  sovereign  States, 
each  of  which  had  the  right  to  pass  upon  the  legality  of  Federal  acts, 
to  nullify  their  operation,  if  deemed  an  infraction  of  the  compact, 
and,  as  a  last  resort,  to  secede  from  the  Union.  With  such  a  view  of 
the  Federal  system  it  is  no  wonder  that  many  threats  of  secession 
had  been  made  by  parties  North  and  South  dissatisfied  with  Federal 
laws.  California  had  been  acquired  from  Mexico,  and,  rich  in  gold,  it 
had  been  soon  filled  with  a  population  sufficient  to  form  a  State.  A 
convention  of  its  people  framed  a  constitution  which  excluded  slavery 
from  its  borders,  and  with  this  instrument  in  hand  they  knocked  at 
the  door  of  Congress  for  admission  during  the  session  of  1849-50. 
To  admit  her  was  to  destroy  the  equilibrium  between  the  free  and 
slave  States,  and  therefore  a  fierce  struggle  at  once  arose  which  threat- 
ened the  permanency  of  the  Union.  Happily  two  of  the  greatest 
statesmen  and  purest  patriots  our  country  has  ever  produced  were  in 
the  councils  of  the  nation,  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky,  and  Daniel 
Webster,  of  Massachusetts.  By  their  combined  efforts  the  compro- 
mise measures  of  1850  were  enacted,  which  it  was  fondly  hoped  would 
settle  the  sectional  strife. 


At  the  Capitol 


53 


It  was  at  this  period  that  the  growth  of  the  nation  demanded  an 
enlargement  of  its  Capitol.  The  Fourth  of  July,  1851,  was  fixed  for 
the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  addition,  and  the  great  expounder 
and  defender  of  the  Constitution,  the  foremost  of  living  statesmen, 
the  matchless  orator,  Daniel  Webster,  was  selected  to  make  the 
address.  Those  who  remember  him  as  he  lived  and  moved  among  men 
easily  recall  the  massive  head,  the  deep-toned  voice,  the  grand 
periods,  the  profound  thought,  which  held  his  auditors  spellbound 
whenever  he  spoke.  On  this  occasion  we  see  him  but  lately  transferred 
from  the  Senate  to  the  foremost  seat  in  the  Cabinet,  the  conspicuous 
mark  for  the  arrows  of  sectionalism:  yet,  firmly  fixed  in  the  position 
he  had  assumed  in  his  celebrated  speech  on  the  compromise  measures, 
delivered  in  the  Senate  the  7th  of  March,  1850,  in  which,  filled  with 
the  patriotism  which  animated  the 
first  Continental  Congress,  he  had 
uttered  the  memorable  words,  ' '  I  wish 
to  speak  to-day  not  as  a  Massachu- 
setts man,  nor  as  a  Northern  man, 
but  as  an  American."  Fit  successor 
of  the  Father  of  his  Country  in  the 
ceremonies  of  the  day,  we  see  his  faith 
in  the  future  of  the  Union  emerging 
from  the  cloud  which  had  overshad- 
owed the  political  horizon,  and  while 
he  recounts  the  unprecedented  hap- 
piness and  the  wonderful  progress  of 
the  country  under  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment, he  appeals  to  the  dissatisfied 
to  exorcise  the  spirit  of  disunion,  and 
to  cling  to  the  Government  framed  by 
their  forefathers  as  the  sheet  anchor 
of  their  liberties,  the  ark  of  their  safety,  the  assurance,  doubly  sure, 
of  their  ever-increasing  greatness. 

Sectional  strife  was  not,  indeed,  quelled  by  the  compromise  of  1850, 
but  fuel  was  continually  added  to  the  flame,  till  secession,  so  long 
threatened,  was  at  last  attempted  by  the  Southern  States.  In  the 
terrible  civil  war  that  followed  slavery  and  secession  went  down 
together,  clasped  in  the  embrace  of  eternal  death,  and  the  Union 
survived,  more  firmly  knit  by  the  effort  to  disrupt  it,  and  blessing  a 
nation  of  freemen.  It  remains  for  us  now  to  cast  out  the  spirit  of 
sectionalism,  that  bitter  fountain  of  our  woes,  and  henceforth  to  unite 
to  realize  the  sentiment  of  the  poet — 

One  flag,  one  land,  one  heart,  one  hand, 
One  nation  evermore! 


54 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


In  the  address  of  Mr.  Webster  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1851,  he 
gave  a  comparative  table  of  statistics  showing  the  growth  of  the  nation 
between  1793  and  1851.  Extending  a  few  of  the  items  of  this  table 
to  the  present  date,  and  using  reports  for  1892  in  doing  so,  we  can 
realize  our  growth  within  the  last  forty-two  years. 


Number  of  States  

Population  of  United  States  

Amount  of  receipts  into  Treasury.  — . 

Amount  of  exports  

Amount  of  imports  

Area  of  United  States  in  square  miles  . 

Number  of  miles  of  railroad  

Number  of  miles  of  electric  telegraph. 

Number  of  miles  of  telephone  

Number  of  universities  and  colleges  ... 


1793- 

15 

3, 929,  328 
$5,  720, 624 
$26,  109, 000 
531, 000, 000 
804, 461 


1851. 

31 

23,  267, 498 
$52,312,980 
$217.517, 130 
$215.  725, 995 

3.3I4>365 
10,  287 
15, 000 


*  Estimated. 


The  Christian  churches  have  more  than  kept  pace  with  the  increase 
of  population,  and  they  have  at  least  16,000,000  members.  Nor  are 
we  behind  any  other  nation  in  our  charitable  institutions  and  common 
schools. 

As  our  wonderful  progress  as  a  nation  is  mainly  due  to  our  free 
institutions,  it  seems  appropriate  to  this  occasion  that  we  review  briefly 
their  origin  and  growth.  Let  us  approach  the  task  reverently,  for  in 
listening  to  the  voice  of  history  we  will  recognize  the  voice  of  God, 
and  in  studying  the  past  aright  we  must  needs  discover  the  Divinity 
which  shapes  our  ends. 

It  is  an  ennobling  thought  that  from  the  day  that  God  said,  "Let 
the  waters  under  the  heaven  be  gathered  together  unto  one  place,  and 
let  the  dry  land  appear,"  He  began  to  prepare  this  continent  for  the 
abode  of  our  race,  as  the  most  worthy  of  the  human  family.  He 
brought  forth  the  mountains  and  filled  them  with  all  the  mineral 
wealth  needed  by  the  most  civilized  of  men.  He  placed  the  mountain 
ranges  as  sentinels  along  the  shores,  charging  them  to  arrest  the  clouds 
which  arise  from  the  seas  and  force  them  to  water  and  enrich  the  earth. 
He  placed  the  great  valleys  between  and  caused  them  ' '  to  bring  forth 
grass,  the  herb  yielding  seed,  and  the  fruit  tree  yielding  fruit  after 
his  kind,"  suited  for  the  sustenance  of  a  great  nation.  He  caused 
deep  rivers  to  flow  from  the  mountains,  to  the  north  and  to  the  south, 
to  the  east  and  to  the  west.  He  placed  the  Gulf  in  the  south  and 
the  lakes  in  the  north,  and  made  them,  with  the  rivers,  convenient 
highways  for  the  commerce  of  a  great  and  prosperous  people,  and  He 
threw  over  the  whole  the  temperate  zone.  Having  fitted  this  continent 
for  the  abode  of  a  people  advanced  to  the  highest  point  of  human 


At  the  Capitol 


55 


progress,  He  hid  it  from  the  eyes  of  civilized  man  and  consigned  it 
to  the  keeping  of  a  savage  race.  Ignorant  of  its  wealth,  they  knew 
no  use  of  its  grand  forests,  except  to  hunt  in  them;  of  its  broad 
rivers  and  lakes,  except  to  fish  in  them;  nor  of  its  productive  soil, 
except  to  soak  it  with  the  blood  of  contending  tribes.  Thus  this  rich 
continent,  best  fitted  of  all  for  the  abode  of  civilized  man,  was  guarded 
and  kept  undisturbed  for  ages,  till  in  the  fullness  of  time  God  had 
trained  up  a  people  worthy  to  enjoy  it. 

The  wonderful  training  of  that  people  is  one  of  the  grandest  lessons 
of  history. 

We  have  been  taught  that  America  is  indebted  to  Great  Britain  for 
her  greatness,  but  in  truth  Great  Britain  is  indebted  to  America  for  its 
existence  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  The  Gulf  Stream,  rising 
in  the  torrid  zone,  after  issuing  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  takes  its 
course  northward  along  the  northeastern  shore  of  North  America, 

by  which  it  is  deflected  till  it  turns 
across  the  Atlantic  and  reaches 
the  British  Isles,  rescuing  them 
from  the  embrace  of  the  frigid  zone, 
giving  them  a  temperate  climate 
fe1"  suited  to  the  development  of  the 
highest  type  of  manhood,  and  furnish- 
ing them  with  the  moisture  needed 
for  a  rich  vegetation.  Through  this 
silent, unrecognized  influence,  exerted 
through  unnumbered  years,  these 
isles  have  been  made  to  blossom  as 
the  rose,  and  enabled  to  sustain  a 
population  fitted  to  lead  the  world 
in  the  progress  of  civilization.  It 
was  these  favored  isles  which,  in  the 
providence  of  God,  were  selected  for  the  training  of  the  race  worthy 
of  the  rich  heritage  of  North  America. 

The  Celts,  their  earliest  inhabitants,  were  not  of  this  favored  race; 
nor  were  their  conquerors,  the  Romans.  Imperial  Rome  regarded  not 
her  citizens  as  free  agents,  but  as  blind,  unquestioning  parts  of  an 
immense  political  machine.  She  based  her  authority  upon  force,  not 
upon  the  consent  of  the  governed.  Her  despotic  government,  by 
crushing  all  local  independence,  crushed  all  local  vigor.  For  nearly 
four  hundred  years  the  island  of  Britain  was  thus  held  as  a  province 
of  the  Roman  Empire.  During  this  period  that  great  power  entered 
upon  its  decline  and  finally  tottered  to  its  fall.  In  411  A.  D.  the 
Roman  legions  were  withdrawn  from  Britain,  in  the  vain  effort  to 
defend  Italy  against  the  Goths.  They  never  returned,  and  thus  it 
was  ordered  that  the  Latin  race  was  not  to  possess  that  fair  isle. 


56 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


After  the  withdrawal  of  the  Roman  legions  the  Britons  were  set  upon 
by  the  Picts  of  Scotland  and  the  Scots  of  Ireland,  and  finally  called 
to  their  aid  the  English  and  Saxons  from  their  home  on  the  peninsula 
which  divides  the  waters  of  the  Baltic  from  the  North  Sea.  These 
came,  A.  D.  449,  under  their  chiefs,  Hengist  and  Horsa,  and  having 
first  delivered  the  Britons  from  their  foes,  they  then  overpowered  them 
and  became  masters  of  the  island.  At  last  the  race  had  come  which 
was  to  permanently  possess  the  island.  They  were  of  the  L,ow  German 
branch  of  the  Teutonic  family — a  people  who  had  withstood  the  arms  of 
Rome  for  more  than  five  hundred  years,  and  were  now  moving  from 
their  forest  homes  to  the  attack  and  overthrow  of  that  great  empire. 

The  Germans  presented  a  striking  contrast  with  the  Romans  in 
their  appearance,  domestic  life,  and  civil  institutions.  The  Roman 
historians  describe  them  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  as 
follows: 

A  race  pure,  unmixed,  and  stamped  with  a  distinct  character.  Hence  a  family 
likeness  pervades  the  whole,  though  their  numbers  are  so  great;  eyes  stern  and 
blue,  ruddy  hair,  large  bodies,  powerful  in  sudden  exertions,  but  impatient  of 
toil  and  labor;  fenced  around  with  chastity,  corrupted  by  no  seductive  specta- 
cles, no  convivial  incitements;  supposing  somewhat  of  sanctity  and  prescience  to 
be  inherent  in  the  female  sex,  and  therefore  neither  despising  their  counsels 
nor  disregarding  their  responses.  Almost  single  among  the  barbarians,  they  con- 
tent themselves  with  one  wife.  The  women  take  one  husband  as  one  body  and 
one  life,  that  no  thought,  no  desire  may  extend  beyond  him;  and  he  may  be 
loved  not  only  as  their  husband  but  as  their  marriage.  A  person's  own  children 
are  his  heirs  and  successors,  and  no  wills  are  made.  They  do  not  inhabit  cities, 
or  even  admit  of  contiguous  settlements.  They  dwell  scattered  and  separate,  as 
a  spring,  a  meadow,  a  grove  may  chance  to  invite  them.  In  their  villages  every- 
one surrounds  his  house  with  a  vacant  space.  No  people  are  more  addicted  to 
social  entertainments  nor  more  liberal  in  the  exercise  of  hospitality.  To  refuse 
any  person  whatever  admittance  under  their  roof  is  accounted  flagitious.  Every- 
one, according  to  his  ability,  feasts  his  guest.  They  worship  Oden  as  their  chief 
divinity,  and  draw  his  character  from  their  own,  delighting  to  show  strength  in 
battle,  and  to  execute  vengeance  on  their  enemies.  They  deem  it  unworthy  of 
the  grandeur  of  their  deity  to  confine  his  worship  within  walls,  or  to  represent 
him  under  a  human  similitude.  Woods  and  groves  are  their  temples,  and  they 
affix  the  name  of  Divinity  to  that  secret  power  which  they  behold  with  the  eye 
of  adoration  alone.  Their  settlements  are  around  some  tree  or  mound  held 
sacred  in  their  religious  rites,  and  here  the  people  assemble  to  transact  matters  of 
government  and  to  decide  upon  war  or  peace.  They  are  divided  into  nations,  some 
under  kings,  some  under  chiefs.  The  nations  are  divided  into  cantons,  each 
under  a  chief  or  count,  who  administers  justice  in  it.  The  cantons  are  divided 
into  districts,  or  hundreds,  each  containing  a  hundred  vills  or  townships.  In 
each  hundred  is  a  centenary,  chosen  by  the  people,  before  whom  small  cases 
are  tried  and  determined,  according  to  the  customs  of  the  settlement.  Their 
courts  of  justice  are  held  in  the  open  air,  on  rising  ground,  beneath  the  shade 
of  a  large  tree.  They  elect  their  kings  and  chiefs,  having  regard  to  birth  and 
fitness,  and  their  generals,  having  regard  to  valor.  Their  kings  exercise  limited 
authority,  and  their  generals  command  less  through  the  force  of  authority  than 
example.    If  they  are  daring,  adventurous,  and  conspicuous  in  action,  they  procure 


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57 


obedience  from  the  admiration  they  inspire.  On  affairs  of  smaller  moment,  the 
chiefs  consult;  on  those  of  greater  importance,  the  whole  community;  yet  with 
this  circumstance,  that  what  is  referred  to  the  decision  of  the  people  is  first 
maturely  discussed  by  the  chiefs.  It  is  customary  for  the  several  states  to  present, 
by  voluntary  or  individual  contributions,  cattle  or  grain  to  their  chiefs,  which  are 
accepted  as  honorary  gifts,  while  they  serve  as  necessary  supplies. 

In  this  description  of  this  stalwart  and  liberty-loving  people  we 
easily  recognize  the  rudiments  of  English  character  and  English  insti- 
tutions, which  have  made  the  English-speaking  people  the  foremost  of 
the  world.  The  distinguishing  trait  of  our  German  ancestors  was  the 
individualism  and  independence  of  the  citizen.  With  them  the  citizen 
was  not  the  creature  of  government,  but  government  was  the  creature 
of  the  citizen.  The  people  were  the  fountain  of  political  power,  and 
rulers  were  their  chosen  servants.  It  was  well  said  by  Mr.  Jefferson, 
when  he  proposed  the  figures  of  Hengist  and  Horsa  for  the  great 
seal  of  the  United  States,  that  they  were  "  the  Saxon  chiefs  from 
whom  we  claim  the  honor  of  being  descended,  and  whose  political 
principles  and  form  of  government  we  have  assumed." 

While  Spain,  France,  and  Italy  were  equally  conquered  by  the 
Germans,  their  religion,  social  life,  and  administrative  order  remained 
Roman,  and  the  conquerors  became  assimilated  with  the  conquered. 
The  result  was  peoples  dominated  by  the  Latin  race.  But  in  Eng- 
land the  result  was  far  different;  there  the  Roman  organization  of 
government  and  society  disappeared  with  the  people  that  used  it,  and 
a  purely  German  nation  rose  in  its  stead,  a  nation  whose  vitality  was 
sufficient  to  absorb  and  assimilate  the  Danes  and  the  Normans  that 
in  succession  conquered  the  island.  For  more  than  one  thousand  years 
before  the  discovery  of  America  this  people  advanced  in  civilization 
in  their  isolated  island  home.  Within  a  century  and  a  half  from  the 
landing  of  Hexgist  upon  the  isle  of  Thanet,  on  the  coast  of  Eng- 
land, Augustine,  with  a  band  of  monks,  landed  on  the  same  spot,  and 
introduced  Christianity,  which  soon  supplanted  the  worship  of  Oden 
and  gave  a  new  and  powerful  impulse  to  the  advancement  of  the  nation. 
In  the  fifteenth  century,  when  the  light  of  the  new  learning  broke  upon 
the  darkness  of  the  Middle  Ages,  it  shone  on  no  laud  with  greater 
luster  than  on  England,  nor  with  greater  practical  effects.  One  of  the 
results  of  the  mental  activity  which  this  revival  of  learning  stirred 
in  Europe  was  the  daring  voyage  of  Columbus  in  search  of  a  new 
passage  to  the  Indies,  which  led  to  the  discovery  of  America.  The 
sovereigns  of  Spain,  who  fitted  out  his  fleet,  claimed  the  New  World 
as  their  possession.  The  Pope  claimed  the  right  to  divide  it  between 
Spain  and  Portugal.  For  one  hundred  years  the  Spanish  race  were 
allowed  to  settle  and  occupy  it  at  will,  and  during  that  time  they 
demonstrated  their  unfitness  to  be  its  possessors.  The  same  sovereigns 
who  equipped  the  fleet  of  Columbus  instituted  that  most  cruel  of 


58 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


all  instruments  of  torture  and  rapacity,  the  Spanish  Inquisition,  and 
under  its  malign  influence  Spain  attempted  to  stamp  out  Protestantism 
in  Europe.  It  was  with  the  same  heartless  cruelty  and  greed  that  the 
Spaniards  murdered  and  robbed  the  natives  of  America,  but  their 
thirst  for  gold  reacted  on  their  own  land  in  the  neglect  of  the  indus- 
tries which  lie  at  the  basis  of  a  nation's  prosperity.  At  the  end  of 
the  century  the  population  of  Spain  had  decreased  four  millions,  while 
the  great  agricultural  and  commercial  interests  of  the  nation  were  in 
a  visible  decay.  It  was  evident  that  God  had  something  better  in 
reserve  for  America  than  the  Latin  races  of  Europe,  with  their  imper- 
ialism in  church  and  state. 

Separated  from  the  continent,  and  developing  along  their  own  lines, 
yet  absorbing  what  was  best  in  Europe,  the  English  had  now  become  a 
great  nation,  under  a  noble  constitution,  in  which  local  self-government 

was  happily  blended  with  national  author- 
ity, and  personal  liberty  was  made  secure. 
The  customs  of  their  ancestors  had  crys- 
tallized into  the  common  law,  claimed  to 
be  the  perfection  of  reason.  The  statute  law 
had  kept  pace  with  the  nation's  growth,  and 
that  which  was  most  valuable  in  the  Roman 
]/  civil  law  had  been  incorporated  into  their 
system. 

The  Great  Charter,  granted  by  King  John 
the  15th  of  June,  12 15,  and  frequently  after- 
wards reaffirmed,  had  limited  the  power  of 
the  King  and  defined  and  guarded  the  rights 
of  the  citizen.  The  principle  of  represen- 
tation of  the  people,  peculiar  to  the  Ger- 
mans, had  been  developed,  by  which  political 
power  could  be  exercised  over  large  areas  without  loss  of  vitality  or 
danger  of  tyranny.  The  supreme  power  was  exercised  by  Parlia- 
ment, in  which  the  chosen  representatives  of  the  people  constituted 
the  House  of  Commons;  the  Lords,  spiritual  and  temporal,  sat  in 
the  House  of  Lords;  and  the  consent  of  the  two  houses,  with  that 
of  the  King,  was  necessary  for  the  enactment  of  laws.  Courts,  pre- 
sided over  by  learned  judges,  construed  the  law  and  administered 
justice.  Every  citizen  was  entitled  to  the  shield  of  the  law  as  a 
protection  to  his  person  and  his  property,  and  he  enjoyed  all  the 
freedom  that  was  compatible  with  the  necessary  powers  of  government. 

In  comparing  the  English  system  of  government  with  that  of  other 
nations,  Montesquieu,  the  great  Frenchman,  was  constrained  to  say 
that  ' '  the  English  is  the  only  nation  in  the  world  where  political 
and  civil  liberty  is  the  direct  end  of  its  constitution." 


At  the  Capital 


59 


It  is  true  that  tyrannical  kings  were  prone  to  disturb  the  equilib- 
rium of  this  well-balanced  constitution,  but  the  strong  attachment  of 
the  people  to  their  free  institutions  sooner  or  later  restored  it  to  its 
proper  state,  and  the  tyrants  were  made  to  know  that  the  people  were 
vested  with  the  supreme  power. 

But  the  English  people  were  not  yet  prepared  to  enter  upon  the 
theater  of  the  New  World,  on  which  they  were  destined  to  play  so 
grand  a  part.  One  thing  was  yet  wanting  to  fit  them  for  the  heri- 
tage which  had  been  prepared  for  them  during  the  ages,  and  that 
came  in  the  great  reformation  of  the  church  which  resulted  from  the 
revival  of  learning  and  the  translation  of  the  Bible.  By  the  end  of 
the  sixteenth  century  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation  had  pervaded 
England,  and  soon  it  could  be  said  that  the  English  had  become  the 
people  of  one  book,  and  that  book  the  Bible.  Its  translation  consti- 
tutes the  noblest  example  of  the  English  tongue,  and  from  its  first 
appearance  it  became  the  standard  of  the  language.  It  was  eagerly 
read  by  the  people,  and  they  endeavored  to  shape  their  lives  by  its 
pure  precepts.  A  great  Puritan  movement  began,  and  had  gathered 
immense  volume,  when  the  far-seeing  Raleigh,  the  most  accomplished 
man  of  his  day,  infused  into  the  nation  his  own  enthusiasm  for  the 
scheme  of  planting  an  English  nation  in  the  part  of  Xorth  America 
not  occupied  by  the  Spaniards.  The  colonists  came  not  to  rob  and 
murder  the  natives,  but  with  a  desire  to  Christianize  them  and  to 
plant  English  institutions  in  the  virgin  soil  of  the  New  World.  Old 
Richard  Hakluyt  expressed  the  conviction  of  the  English  people 
when  he  wrote,  "God  hath  reserved  the  countrys  lying  north  of 
Florida  to  be  reduced  into  Christian  civility  by  the  English  nation." 

In  due  course  of  time  thirteen  English  colonies  were  firmly  estab- 
lished along  the  Atlantic  coast,  but  not  without  constant  struggles 
with  the  French,  who  had  settled  on  the  north  and  west,  and  the 
Spaniards  on  the  south,  who  with  their  Indian  allies  attacked  them 
from  their  several  quarters.  But  Providence  had  decreed  to  the  Eng- 
lish the  possession  of  North  America,  and  the}-  could  not  be  crushed 
nor  their  limits  reduced.  The  victory  of  Wolfe  at  Quebec  in  1759 
and  the  subsequent  treaty  of  Paris  of  1763  destroyed  the  French  power 
in  North  America,  gave  Canada  to  the  English,  and  extended  the 
western  boundaries  of  the  Colonies  to  the  Mississippi.  Thus  the  way 
was  opened  for  the  Colonies,  when  they  became  independent  States, 
to  extend  their  possessions  to  the  Pacific  and  to  fulfill  the  manifest 
destiny  of  the  English  race  on  this  continent. 

It  was  a  century  and  a  half  after  their  first  planting  before  the  Colo- 
nies were  sufficiently  developed  in  population,  in  wealth,  and  in  free 
institutions  to  assume  for  themselves  the  great  trust  which  awaited 
them. 


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Capitol  Centennial  Celebration. 


At  their  planting  they  brought  with  them  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  Englishmen,  secured  by  their  charters.  Separated  from  the  mother 
country  by  a  wide  ocean,  only  to  be  crossed  by  tedious  and  dangerous 
voyages,  local  self-government  sprang  up  and  entered  upon  a  vigorous 
growth.  County  or  township  government  was  copied,  with  improve- 
ments, from  county  government  in  England.  Assemblies,  elected  upon 
a  broad  basis  of  suffrage,  were  the  faithful  representatives  of  the 
people  and  guardians  of  their  rights,  while  the  governors  and  councils, 
in  imitation  of  king  and  lords,  were  united  with  the  assemblies  in  the 
enactment  of  laws.  A  supervisory  control  was  retained  by  the  English 
Government,  but  in  practice  was  seldom  exercised.  And  thus  the 
English  Colonies  were  left,  in  their  isolated  condition,  to  their  natural 
development,  directed  by  the  race  characteristics  of  the  people  and 

their  new  surroundings.  These  conduced  to 
the  formation  of  a  noble  manhood.  The 
people  were  in  the  main  agricultural  and 
lived  on  their  farms.  The  task  of  subduing 
the  earth  and  defending  their  homes  against 
a  treacherous  and  savage  foe  stimulated  their 
{//'courage  and  self-reliance,  while  they  learned 
the  lesson  of  individual  freedom.  The  Bible 
taught  them  that  ever}-  man  was  responsible 
for  his  conduct  to  his  Maker.  This  neces- 
sitated individual  freedom  of  action,  and  so 
a  Divine  sanction  was  given  to  the  free 
institutions  which  they  had  inherited  from 
their  heathen  ancestors. 

The  Great  Charter,  wrested  from  the  weak 
and  treacherous  John,  had  been  made  im- 
pregnable by  the  statute  of  Edward  I,  which 
confirmed  to  Parliament  the  exclusive  right 
of  taxation.  These  two  formed  the  solid 
basis  of  the  English  constitution.  The  statute  was  a  bulwark  of  de- 
fense for  the  charter,  for  with  the  power  of  taxation  in  the  possession 
of  the  representatives  of  the  people  the  castle  of  their  liberties  was 
impregnable. 

The  colonists  claimed  the  exclusive  right  of  taxing  themselves, 
through  their  assemblies,  as  they  were  not  represented  in  Parliament; 
and  in  no  part  of  the  Kingdom  was  this  right  more  highly  valued  or 
more  closely  guarded. 

After  the  Colonies  had  become  firmly  rooted  their  growth  was  rapid, 
and  their  development  in  material  wealth  was  truly  wonderful.  By 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  they  numbered  one-fourth  of  the 
population  of  the  mother  country,  and  had  become  rich  and  prosperous, 


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61 


contributing  largely  to  the  wealth  of  Great  Britain  by  their  commerce. 
They  had  also  advanced  in  their  ideas  of  free  government  far  beyond 
what  was  entertained  in  England,  and  were  not  behind  her  in  the 
education  and  intelligence  of  the  people.  There  was  a  tolerance  in 
religion  which  was  not  known  in  the  mother  country  or  in  Europe, 
and  which  was  one  of  the  strongest  inducements  of  the  emigration 
which  crowded  the  ships  leaving  the  ports  of  the  Old  World. 

It  was  now  that  Parliament,  under  the  dictation  of  a  weak  but 
stubborn  King,  and  in  contravention  of  the  English  constitution, 
determined  to  tax  the  Colonies  without  the  consent  of  their  assemblies. 
They  respectfully  remonstrated,  then  vigorously  protested,  and  finally 
took  up  arms  in  defense  of  the  great  bulwark  of  their  liberties.  God 
gave  them  the  victory,  and  the  dependent  Colonies  became  independent 
States.  In  framing  their  State  governments  they  had  the  advantage 
not  only  of  their  own  experience  but  of  the  experience  of  the  world, 
and  most  wisely  did  they  use  it.  No  great  revolution  was  ever  led 
by  abler  men  or  by  purer  patriots.  Virginia  was  the  first  colony 
to  assume  independence,  and  her  incomparable  statesmen,  following 
English  precedent,  framed  a  bill  of  rights  setting  forth  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  her  new  government.  This  remarkable  paper,  the 
greatest  of  its  kind  ever  penned,  marked  the  growth  of  free  institu- 
tions in  America.  It  was  copied  more  or  less  closely  by  the  other 
States,  and  became  the  foundation  of  American  government.  Of  it 
Mr.  Bancroft  says: 

The  Virginia  Bill  of  Rights  formed  the  groundwork  of  American  institutions. 
It  announced  governmental  principles  for  all  peoples  for  all  time.  It  was  the 
voice  of  Reason  going  forth  to  speak  a  new  political  world  into  being. 

Magna  Charta  and  the  Bill  of  Rights  of  1688  had  been  drawn  by 
great  statesmen,  and  had  been  accepted  as  the  best  presentation  of 
the  rights  of  freemen  ever  penned.  But  the  Virginia  Bill  of  Rights, 
drafted  by  George  Mason,  a  Virginia  farmer,  while  embodying  all 
that  was  of  permanent  value  in  these  two,  far  excelled  them  in  the 
fullness  and  clearness  with  which  it  states  the  rights  of  freemen  and 
the  fundamental  principles  of  a  free  State.  Let  us  glance  at  its  provi- 
sions, upon  which  has  been  built  the  fabric  of  American  Government. 
The  first  four  sections  read  as  follows: 

1.  That  all  men  are  by  nature  equally  free  and  independent,  and  have  certain 
inherent  rights  of  which,  when  they  enter  into  a  state  of  society,  they  can  not,  by 
any  compact,  deprive  or  divest  their  posterity,  namely,  the  enjoyment  of  life  and 
liberty,  with  the  means  of  acquiring  and  possessing  property,  and  pursuing  and 
obtaining  happiness  and  safety. 

2.  That  all  power  is  vested  in,  and  consequently  derived  from,  the  people;  that 
magistrates  are  their  trustees  and  servants,  and  at  all  times  amenable  to  them. 

3.  That  government  is,  or  ought  to  be,  instituted  for  the  common  benefit, 
protection,  and  security  of  the  people,  nation,  or  community;  of  all  the  various 


62 


( *apitol  ( *entennial  Celebration 


modes  and  forms  of  government  that  is  hest  which  is  capable  of  producing  the 
greatest  degree  of  happiness  and  safety,  and  is  most  effectually  secured  against 
danger  of  maladministration;  and  that  when  any  government  shall  be  found 
inadequate  or  contrary  to  these  purposes,  a  majority  of  the  community  hath  an 
indubitable,  inalienable,  and  indefeasible  right  to  reform,  alter,  or  abolish  it,  in 
such  manner  as  shall  be  judged  most  conducive  to  the  public  weal. 

4.  That  no  man  or  set  of  men  are  entitled  to  exclusive  or  separate  emoluments 
or  privileges  from  the  community  but  in  consideration  of  public  services,  which 
not  being  descendible,  neither  ought  the  offices  of  magistrate,  legislator,  or  judge 
to  be  hereditary. 

These  sections  set  forth  in  most  appropriate  language  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  a  free  republic,  and  having  been  substantially 
reproduced  a  few  weeks  afterwards  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
of  the  Continental  Congress,  they  became  the  utterance  of  the  conti- 
nent. They  annihilate  at  one  blow  royalty,  aristocracy,  and  privileged 
class,  and  boldly  proclaim  the  ecruality  of  men  before  the  law,  their 
natural  right  to  freedom,  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  people. 

The  fifth  section  declares  that  the  legislative  and  executive  powers 
shall  be  separate  and  distinct  from  the  judiciary,  and  should  be  con- 
fined to  fixed  periods,  the  vacancies  to  be  filled  by  frequent,  certain, 
and  regular  elections.  This  was  a  great  advance  upon  the  English 
constitution,  under  which  the  legislative  department  exercised  judicial 
powers  and  the  Parliamentary  elections  were  subject  to  the  will  of  the 
King.  It  also  guarded  the  purity  and  independence  of  the  judiciary, 
which  are  of  such  vital  importance  in  any  system  of  good  government. 
The  sixth,  seventh,  eighth,  ninth,  and  thirteenth  sections,  securing 
freedom  of  elections,  confining  the  power  of  suspending  laws  to  the 
legislature,  guarding  the  rights  of  persons  accused  of  crime,  and  pro- 
hibiting standing  armies  in  times  of  peace,  were  based  upon  the 
provisions  of  the  English  Bill  of  Rights  of  1688,  but  were  improvements 
upon  them.  They  enlarged  the  right  of  suffrage  and  extended  it  to 
' '  all  men  having  sufficient  evidence  of  permanent  common  interest 
with  and  attachment  to  the  community,"  and  declared  that  no  law  is 
binding  upon  the  people  unless  assented  to  through  their  representa- 
tives. They  secured  to  the  accused  an  open  and  speedy  trial  by  an 
impartial  jury,  and  provided  that  he  shall  not  be  forced  to  give  evi- 
dence against  himself  nor  be  deprived  of  his  liberty  except  by  the  law  of 
the  land  or  the  judgment  of  his  peers.  They  placed  the  defense  of  the 
state  upon  a  trained  militia,  and  made  the  military  in  all  cases  subor- 
dinate to  the  civil  power.  This  last  is  the  only  proper  and  safe  course 
in  a  free  state.  Great  standing  armies  in  times  of  peace  are  not  only 
dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the  people,  but  by  withdrawing  large 
bodies  of  men  from  the  fields  of  industry  and  taxing  those  who  remain 
in  those  fields  for  their  support  they  retard  the  prosperity  of  the  state. 

The  tenth,  eleventh,  twelfth,  fourteenth,  fifteenth,  and  sixteenth 
sections  were  invaluable  additions  to  the  English  Bill  of  Rights.  They 


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63 


prohibited  general  warrants  of  arrest;  declared  that  jury  trial  should 
be  held  sacred  in  civil  controversies;  secured  the  freedom  of  the  press 
as  one  of  the  greatest  bulwarks  of  liberty;  declared  the  right  of  the 
people  to  uniform  government;  that  free  government  can  only  be  pre- 
served "  by  a  firm  adherence  to  justice,  moderation,  temperance,  frugal- 
ity, and  virtue,  and  by  frequent  recurrence  to  fundamental  principles," 
and  that  "religion,  or  the  duty  we  owe  to  our  Creator,  and  the  man- 
ner of  discharging  it,  can  be  directed  only  by  reason  and  conviction, 
not  by  force  or  violence,  and  therefore  all  men  are  equally  entitled  to 
the  free  exercise  of  religion  according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience." 
Of  these  the  most  valuable  is  the  last,  divorcing  church  and  state  from 
their  debasing  union,  which  for  centuries  had  brought  unnumbered 
woes  upon  mankind.  It  was  the  first  time  that  a  state  had  ever 
placed  religion  on  the  ground  which  the 
Founder  of  Christianity  had  claimed  for  it, 
and  the  principle  is  now  held  to  be  the 
contribution  of  America  to  the  science  of 
government  and  the  chief  corner  stone  of 
our  system.  It  has  shed  the  richest  bless- 
ings upon  both  church  and  state  in  Amer- 
ica, and  will  be  the  watchword  of  an  ad-  iv 
vancing  civilization  throughout  the  world. 

Upon  these  fundamental  principles  written  / 
constitutions  were  framed  by  the  States  ll 
defining  and  limiting  the  powers  of  gov- 
ernment and  limiting  the  exercise  of  sov- 
ereign power  by  the  people  themselves, 
thus  securing  permanency  to  their  republican 
form  of  government. 

But  soon  another  important  step  was  taken 
in  the  development  of  our  institutions.  The 
war  of  the  Revolution  had  forced  the 
Colonies  to  unite  in  the  defense  of  their 
common  liberties.  They  had  conducted 
their  common  affairs  through  a  congress,  without  any  articles  of  con- 
federation, until  near  the  close  of  the  war,  and  the  articles  then 
adopted  were  but  a  league  between  sovereign  States.  The  federal 
functions  were  to  be  exercised  by  the  Congress,  in  which  each  State 
delegation  counted  but  as  one  vote.  The  body  had  no  real  power 
over  the  States,  and  could  only  advise  them.  As  has  been  well 
said: 

It  could  ask  the  States  for  money,  but  could  not  compel  them  to  give  it;  it 
could  ask  them  for  troops,  but  could  not  force  them  to  heed  the  requisition;  it 
could  make  treaties,  but  must  trust  the  States  to  fulfill  them;  it  could  contract 
debts,  but  must  rely  upon  the  States  to  pay  them. 


64 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


Under  such  a  system,  after  the  pressure  of  war  had  been  removed, 
there  could  be  nothing  but  State  jealousies,  internal  disorder,  weak- 
ness, and  finally  disintegration.  The  patriots  who  had  won  freedom 
and  independence  saw  this  clearly,  and  within  half  a  decade  after 
the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  peace  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were 
cast  aside  and  a  new  union  formed  under  the  Federal  Constitution. 

This  marks  the  beginning  of  our  history  as  a  nation,  and  is  an  era 
in  the  development  of  free  institutions.  The  problem  before  the  con- 
vention which  framed  the  Federal  Constitution  was  new  and  difficult 
indeed,  and  by  many  deemed  insoluble.  It  was  the  creation  of  a 
nation  out  of  the  citizens  of  the  several  States  without  destroying 

the  autonomy  of  the 
States.  It  was  to  divide 
the  sovereign  power  be- 
tween the  nation  and  the 
States,  so  as  to  invest 
the  nation  with  ample 
supreme  powers  to  con- 
||cs  duct  national  affairs,  and 
to  leave  with  the  States 
enough  of  sovereignty  to 
conduct  State  affairs.  It  was 
to  cause  both  governments  to 
operate  directly  on  the  citizen, 
invested  with  a  double  citizen- 
ship, without  a  conflict  in  his 
allegiance.  It  was  to  perpet- 
uate republican  governments 
for  both  the  nation  and  the  States, 
each  supreme  in  its  functions,  and 
so  firmly  fixed  in  its  allotted 
sphere  that  the)'  would  never  clash. 
The  able  men  who  solved  this 
problem  were  statesmen  of  the  highest  order  as  well  as  patriots 
of  the  greatest  purity.  They  thought  they  understood  clearly  their 
work,  but  they  builded  better  than  they  knew.  The  form  of  govern- 
ment that  they  constructed  has  excited  the  admiration  of  the  world. 
It  has  stood  every  test  in  peace  and  in  war,  and  under  it  a  great  and 
ever-growing  nation  has  developed,  which  rejoices  more  and  more,  as 
the  years  roll  around,  in  the  incalculable  blessings  it  secures. 

In  the  structure  of  the  Federal  Government  the  same  principles 
were  adopted  which  lay  at  the  foundation  of  the  State  governments. 
The  three  great  departments,  legislative,  judicial,  and  executive,  were 
made  separate  and  distinct,  the  executive,  however,  retaining  a  condi- 
tional veto  upon  the  legislative  department.    The  legislature  was  made 


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65 


bicameral,  the  Senate  representing  the  States  equally,  the  House  of 
Representatives  the  people  proportionally.  The  judiciary  was  made  an 
independent,  coordinate  branch  of  the  Government,  vested  with  power 
to  pass  upon  the  constitutionality  of  the  laws,  State  and  Federal,  and 
to  declare  null  and  void  such  as  were  not  in  accordance  with  the  Con- 
stitution. Thus  the  national  and  State  governments  were  to  be  kept 
in  their  appropriate  spheres.  The  Executive  was  charged  with  the 
execution  of  the  laws,  and  was  made  responsible  for  his  conduct.  The 
treaty-making  power  was  vested  in  him,  only  to  be  exercised  with  the 
consent  of  the  Senate.  The  powers  of  the  Government  were  enumer- 
ated and  were  ample  for  the  great  objects  of  its  creation,  which  were 
stated  to  be  "  to  form  a  more  perfect  union,  to  establish  justice,  insure 
domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defense,  promote  the 
general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and 
to  our  posterity."  It  has  been  well  said  by  an  able  writer  on  our 
Government  that — 

The  framers  of  this  Government  set  before  themselves  four  objects  essential  to 
its  excellence,  namely: 

Its  vigor  and  efficiency.  The  independence  of  its  departments  (  as  being  essen- 
tial to  the  permanency  of  its  form).  Its  dependence  on  the  people.  The  security 
under  it  of  the  freedom  of  the  individual. 

The  first  of  these  objects  they  sought  by  creating  a  strong  executive;  the 
second,  by  separating  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  powers  from  one 
another,  and  by  the  contrivance  of  various  checks  and  balances;  the  third,  by 
making  all  authorities  elective,  and  elections  frequent;  the  fourth,  both  by  the 
checks  and  balances  aforesaid,  so  arranged  as  to  restrain  any  one  department 
from  tyranny,  and  by  placing  certain  rights  of  the  citizen  under  the  protection 
of  the  written  Constitution. 

So  jealous  were  the  people  of  their  personal  liberty  and  so  deter- 
mined to  have  their  rights  secured  that  without  delay  they  ingrafted 
upon  the  Constitution  ten  amendments,  eight  of  them  containing  a  bill 
of  rights  based  upon  the  Virginia  bill,  and  two  of  them  more  clearly 
defining  the  boundary  between  the  Federal  and  State  governments. 

At  the  close  of  the  civil  war  another  step  forward  was  taken  in  the 
amendments  which  abolished  slavery  and  secured  equal  privileges  and 
immunities  to  all  citizens  throughout  the  Union.  Thus  our  free  institu- 
tions have  developed  until,  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  and  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  a  nation  of  sixty-five  millions  of  freemen  rejoice 
in  the  liberty  which  constitutional  republican  government  has  assured 
to  them.  The  ancients  worshiped  their  divinities  as  the  guardians  of 
their  states;  we  only  bow  to  constitutional  law  as  the  guardian  of  our 
institutions,  and,  in  the  language  of  the  eloquent  Rufus  Choate,  we 
can  say,  "  We  have  built  no  national  temples  but  the  Capitol.  We  con- 
sult no  common  oracle  but  the  Constitution." 

When  we  entered  the  family  of  nations  as  a  republic,  it  was  pre- 
dicted that  our  Government  would  be  shortlived,  but  now  the  ablest 
H.  Mis.  211  5 


66 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


writers  point  out  elements  of  permanency  in  our  institutions,  chief 
among  which  is  the  devotion  of  our  people  to  their  form  of  govern- 
ment. Yes,  to-day,  freed  from  the  fears  felt  by  Mr.  WEBSTER  in 
1 85 1,  we  can  repeat  his  noble  words  with  increased  emphasis: 

Be  it  known  that  on  this  day  the  union  of  the  United  States  of  America  stands 
firm,  that  their  Constitution  still  exists  unimpaired,  and  with  all  its  original  useful- 
ness and  glory;  growing  every  day  stronger  and  stronger  in  the  affections  of  the 
great  body  of  the  American  people,  and  attracting  more  and  more  the  admiration 
of  the  world. 

( >nr  forefathers  trusted  the  permanency  of  the  Government  they 
founded  to  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of  the  people.  Virtue  and 
intelligence!  Divine  attributes  given  to  man  when  he  was  made  in 
the  image  of  God!  As  the  two  cherubim,  with  outstretched  wings, 
covered  and  guarded  the  holy  oracle  in  which  was  deposited  the 
Ark  of  the  Covenant,  so  may  these  guard  and  protect  our  Constitu- 
tion, in  which  has  been  deposited  the  priceless  jewel  of  liberty,  as  it  is 
transmitted  from  generation  to  generation,  till  time  shall  end.  And 
filled  w  ith  the  patriotic  spirit  of  our  founders,  may  those  who  admin- 
ister the  Government  come  year  by  year  to  this  Capitol,  and  by  wis- 
dom in  counsel  do  continued  honor  to  their  memory  in  contributing  to 
the  happiness  of  this  great  people.    Illustrious  founders! 

Ages  on  ages  shall  your  fate  admire! 
No  future  day  shall  see  your  names  expire 
While  stands  the  Capitol,  immortal  dome! 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Henry's  oration,  the  Centennial 
Chorus  sang  "The  Star-Spangled  Banner,"  accompanied  by 
the  Marine  Band,  the  vast  multitude  joining  in  the  chorus  with 
great  effect. 

President  Cleveland  then  arose  and  said  that  he  had  the 
pleasure  of  introducing  a  distinguished  gentleman  to  respond 
for  "The  United  States  Senate,"  the  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  Hon.  Adlai  E.  Stevenson,  of  Illinois. 

THE  VICE-PRESIDENT'S  ADDRESS 

Mr.  Stevenson  was  welcomed  with  prolonged  applause  as 
President  Cleveland  led  him  to  the  front  of  the  platform,  and 
spoke  in  a  most  earnest  and  impressive  manner,  as  follows: 

Fellow-Citizens:  This  day  and  this  hour  mark  the  close  of  a  cen- 
tury of  our  national  history.  No  ordinary  event  has  called  us  together. 
Standing  in  the  presence  of  this  august  assemblage  of  the  people,  upon 


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67 


the  spot  where  Washington  stood,  we  solemnly  commemorate  the  one 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  nation's 
Capitol. 

It  is  well  that  this  day  has  been  set  apart  as  a  national  holiday,  that 
all  public  business  has  been  suspended,  and  that  the  President  and  his 
Cabinet,  the  members  of  the  great  court  and  of  the  Congress,  unite 
with  their  countrymen  in  doing  honor  to  the  memory  of  the  men  who, 
one  hundred  years  ago,  at  this  hour  and  upon  this  spot,  put  in  place 
the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol  of  the  American  Republic.  The  century 
rolls  back  and  we  stand  in  the  presence  of  the  grandest  and  most 
imposing  figure  known  to  any  age  or  country.  WASHINGTON,  as 
Grand  Master  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  clothed  in  the  symbolic 
garments  of  that  venerable  order,  wearing  the  apron  and  the  sash 
wrought  by  the  hands  of  the  wife  of  the  beloved  La  Fayette,  impress- 
ively and  in  accordance  with  the  time-honored  usages  of  that  order, 
is  laying  his  hands  upon  the  corner  stone  of  the  future  and  perma- 
nent Capitol  of  his  country.  The  solemn  ceremonies  of  that  hour 
were  conducted  by  Washington,  not  only  in  his  office  of  Grand  Master 
of  Free  Masons,  but  in  the  yet  more  august  office  of  President  of  the 
United  States.  Assisting  him  in  the  fitting  observance  of  these  impress- 
ive rites  were  representatives  of  the  Masonic  lodges  of  Virginia  and  of 
Maryland,  while  around  him  stood  men  whose  honored  names  live  with 
his  in  history,  the  men  who,  on  field  and  in  council,  had  aided  first  in 
achieving  independence  and  then  in  the  yet  more  difficult  task  of  garner- 
ing, by  wise  legislation,  the  fruits  of  victory.  Truly  the  centennial  of 
an  event  so  fraught  with  interest  should  not  pass  unnoticed. 

History  furnishes  no  parallel  to  the  century  whose  close  we  now 
commemorate.  Among  all  the  centuries  it  stands  alone.  With  hearts 
filled  with  gratitude  to  the  God  of  our  fathers,  it  is  well  that  we  recall 
something  of  the  progress  of  the  young  Republic  since  the  masterful 
hour  when  Washington  laid  his  hands  upon  the  foundation  stone  of 
yonder  Capitol. 

The  seven  years  of  colonial  struggle  for  liberty  had  terminated  in 
glorious  victory.  Independence  had  been  achieved.  The  Articles  of 
Confederation,  binding  the  Colonies  together  in  a  mere  "league  of 
friendship,"  had  given  place  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
that  wonderful  instrument,  so  aptly  declared  by  Mr.  Gladstone  to  be 
"  the  most  wonderful  work  ever  struck  off  at  a  given  time  by  the  brain 
and  purpose  of  man." 

Without  a  dissenting  voice  in  the  electoral  college  Washington 
had  been  chosen  President.  At  his  council  table  sat  Jefferson,  the 
author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence;  Hamilton,  of  whom  it 
has  been  said:  "He  smote  the  rock  of  the  national  resources,  and 
abundant  streams  of  revenue  gushed  forth ;  he  touched  the  dead  corpse 
of  the  public  credit,  and  it  sprang  upon  its  feet;"  Knox,  the  brave 


68 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


and  trusted  friend  of  his  chief  during  the  Colonial  struggle,  and 
Edmund  Randolph,  the  impress  of  whose  genius  has  been  indelibly 
left  upon  the  Federal  Constitution.  Vermont  and  Kentucky,  as  sov- 
ereign States,  coequal  with  the  original  thirteen,  had  been  admitted 
into  the  Union.  The  Supreme  Court,  consisting  of  six  members,  had 
been  constituted,  with  the  learned  jurist,  John  Jay,  as  its  Chief  Justice. 
The  popular  branch  of  the  Congress  consisted  of  but  one  hundred  and 
five  members.  Thirty  members  constituted  the  Senate,  over  whose 
deliberations  presided  the  patriot  statesman,  John  Adams.  The  popu- 
lation of  the  entire  country  was  less  than  four  millions.  The  village 
of  Washington,  the  capital — and  I  trust  for  all  coming  ages  the  capi- 
tal— contained  but  a  few  hundred  inhabitants. 

After  peace  had  been  con- 
cluded with  Great  Britain, 
and  while  we  were  yet  under 
the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
the  sessions  of  the  Congress 
were  held  successively  at  Prince- 
ton, Annapolis,  Trenton,  and  New 
York.  In  the  presence  of  both 
Houses  of  Congress,  on  the  30th  day 
of  April,  17S9,  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  Washington  had  been  inau- 
gurated President.  From  that  hour — - 
the  beginning  of  our  Government 
under  the  Constitution — the  Con- 
~~  gress  was  held  in  New  York  until 
1790,  then  in  Philadelphia  until  1800, 
when,  on  November  17,  it  first  con- 
vened in  Washington.  The  necessity 
of  selecting  a  suitable  and  central  place 
for  the  permanent  location  of  the  seat  of 
government  early  engaged  the  thought- 
ful consideration  of  our  fathers.  It  can 
not  be  supposed  that  the  question  reached  a 
final  determination  without  great  embarrassment,  earnest  discussion, 
and  the  manifestation  of  sectional  jealousies.  But,  as  has  been  well 
said,  "the  good  genius  of  our  system  finally  prevailed,"  and  "a  dis- 
trict of  territory  on  the  river  Potomac,  at  some  place  between  the 
mouths  of  the  Eastern  Branch  and  the  Connogacheague,"  was,  by 
act  of  Congress  of  June  28,  1790,  "  accepted  for  the  permanent  seat  of 
government  of  the  United  States. ' ' 

From  the  17th  day  of  November,  1800,  this  city  has  been  the  capital. 
When  that  day  came  Washington  had  gone  to  his  grave  John 


At  the  Capitol 


69 


Adams  was  President,  and  Jefferson  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Sen- 
ate. It  may  be  well  to  recall  that  upon  the  occasion  of  the  assembling 
for  the  first  time  of  the  Congress  in  the  Capitol  President  Adams 
appeared  before  the  Senate  and  the  House,  in  joint  session,  and  said: 

It  would  be  unbecoming  the  representatives  of  this  nation  to  assemble  for  the 
first  time  in  this  solemn  temple  without  looking  up  to  the  Supreme  Ruler  of 
the  universe  and  imploring  His  blessing.  You  will  consider  it  as  the  capital  of  a 
great  nation,  advancing  with  unexampled  rapidity  in  arts,  in  commerce,  in  wealth 
and  population,  and  possessing  within  itself  those  resources  which,  if  not  thrown 
away  or  lamentably  misdirected,  will  secure  to  it  a  long  course  of  prosperity  and 
self-government. 

To  this  address  of  President  Adams  the  Senate  made  reply: 

We  meet  you,  sir,  and  the  other  branch  of  the  National  Legislature  in  the  city 
which  is  honored  by  the  name  of  our  late  hero  and  sage,  the  illustrious  Washing- 
ton, with  sensations  and  emotions  which  exceed  our  power  of  description. 

From  the  date  last  given  until  the  burning  of  the  Capitol  by  the 
British  in  18 14,  in  the  room  now  occupied  by  the  Supreme  Court,  in  the 
north  wing,  were  held  the  sessions  of  the  Senate.  That  now  almost 
forgotten  apartment  witnessed  the  assembling  of  Senators  who,  at  an 
earlier  period  of  our  history,  had  been  the  associates  of  Washington 
and  of  Franklin,  and  had  themselves  played  no  mean  part  in  crys- 
tallizing into  the  great  organic  law  the  deathless  principles  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence.  From  this  chamber  went  forth  the  second 
declaration  of  war  against  Great  Britain,  and  here,  before  the  Senate  as 
a  court  of  impeachment,  was  arraigned  a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  to  answer  the  charge  of  alleged  high  crimes  and 
misdemeanors. 

With  the  rolling  years  and  the  rapid  growth  of  the  Republic  came  the 
imperative  necessity  for  enlarging  its  Capitol.  The  debates  upon  this 
subject  culminated  in  the  act  of  Congress  of  September  30,  1850,  pro- 
viding for  the  erection  of  the  north  and  south  wings  of  the  Capitol. 
Thomas  U.  Walter  was  the  architect  to  whose  hands  was  committed 
the  great  work.  Yonder  noble  structure  will  stand  for  ages  the  silent 
witness  of  the  fidelity  with  which  the  important  trust  was  discharged. 

The  corner  stone  of  the  additions  was  laid  by  President  Fillmore 
on  the  4th  day  of  July,  185 1.  In  honor  of  that  event,  and  by  request 
of  the  President,  Mr.  Webster  pronounced  an  oration,  and  while  we 
have  a  country  and  a  language  his  words  will  touch  a  responsive  chord 
in  patriotic  hearts.  Beneath  the  corner  stone  was  then  deposited  a 
paper  in  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  Wekster,  containing  the  following 
words: 

If  it  shall  hereafter  be  the  will  of  God  that  this  structure  shall  fall  from  its 
base,  that  its  foundation  be  upturned  and  this  deposit  brought  to  the  eyes  of 
men,  be  it  then  known  that  on  this  day  the  Union  of  the  United  States  of  America 
stands  firm,  that  their  Constitution  still  exists  unimpaired,  with  all  its  original 


7o 


Capitol  ( 'entennial  (  elebration 


usefulness  and  glory,  growing  every  day  stronger  and  stronger  in  the  affections 
of  the  great  body  of  the  American  people,  and  attracting  more  and  more  the 
admiration  of  the  world.  And  all  here  assembled,  whether  belonging  to  public 
life  or  to  private  life,  with  hearts  devoutly  thankful  to  Almighty  God  for  the 
preservation  of  the  liberty  and  happiness  of  the  country,  unite  in  sincere  and 
fervent  prayers  that  this  deposit,  and  the  walls  and  arches,  the  domes  and 
towers,  the  columns  and  entablatures  now  to  be  erected  over  it,  may  endure 
forever. 

From  the  6th  day  of  December,  1819,  until  January  4,  1859,  a  period 
of  thirty-nine  years,  the  sessions  of  the  Senate  were  held  in  the  pres- 
ent vSupreme  Court  room.  This  was  indeed  the  arena  of  high  debate. 
When,  in  any  age  or  in  any  country,  has  there  been  gathered  within  so 
small  compass  so  much  of  human  greatness?    To  even  suggest  the 

great  questions  here  discussed  and  de- 
termined would  be  to  write  a  history 
of  that  eventful  period.  It  was  indeed 
the  coming  together  of  the  master 
spirits  of  the  second  generation  of  Amer- 
ican statesmen.  Here  were  Macon 
and  Crawford,  Benton,  Randolph, 
Cass,  Bell,  Houston,  Preston, 
Buchanan,  Seward,  Chase,  Crit- 
tenden, Sumner,  Choate,  Everett, 
B  reese,  Trumbull,  Fessenden, 
Douglas,  Clav,  Calhoun,  Webster, 
and  others  scarcely  less  illustrious. 
Within  the  walls  of  that  little  cham- 
ber was  heard  the  wondrous  debate 
between  Hayne  and  Webster.  There 
began  the  fierce  conflict  of  antagonistic 
ideas  touching  the  respective  powers  of 
the  States  and  of  the  nation — a  conflict 
which,  transferred  to  a  different  theater, 
found  final  solution  only  in  the  bloody 
arbitrament  of  arms. 

For  a  little  more  than  a  third  of  a 
century  the  sessions  of  the  Senate  have 
been  held  in  the  magnificent  chamber  of  the  north  wing  of  the  Cap- 
itol. Of  the  procession  of  sixty-two  Senators  that,  preceded  by  the 
Vice-President,  Mr.  Breckinridge,  entered  that  Chamber  for  the  first 
time  on  the  4th  day  of  January,  1859,  but  four  survive.  Not  one 
remains  in  public  life.     It  is  indeed  now  a  procession  of  shadows. 

When  the  foundation  stone  of  this  Capitol  was  laid,  our  Republic 
was  in  its  infancy  and  self-government  yet  an  untried  experiment. 
It  is  a  proud  reflection  to-day  that  time  has  proved  the  true  arbiter, 


At  the  Capitol 


7i 


and  that  the  capacity  of  a  free  and  intelligent  people  to  govern  them- 
selves by  a  written  constitution  and  laws  of  their  own  making  is  no 
longer  an  experiment.  The  crucial  test  of  a  century  of  unparalleled 
material  prosperity  has  been  safely  endured. 

In  1793  there  was  no  city  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  To-day  a  single 
city  on  Lake  Michigan  contains  a  population  of  a  little  less  than  one- 
half  that  of  the  Republic  at  the  time  of  the  first  inauguration  of 
Washington.  States  have  been  carved  out  of  the  wilderness,  and 
our  great  rivers,  whose  silence  met  no  break  on  their  pathway  to  the 
sea,  are  now  the  arteries  of  our  interior  trade,  and  bear  upon  their 
bosoms  a  commerce  which  surpasses  a  hundredfold  that  of  the  entire 
country  a  century  ago. 

From  fifteen  States  and  four  millions  of  people  we  have  grown  to 
fifty  States  and  Territories  and  sixty-seven  million  people;  from  an 
area  of  eight  hundred  and  five  thousand  to  an  area  of  three  million 
six  hundred  thousand  square  miles;  from  a  narrow  strip  along  the 
Atlantic  seaboard  to  an  unbroken  possession  from  ocean  to  ocean. 
How  marvelous  the  increase  in  our  national  wealth!  In  1793  our 
imports  amounted  to  $31,000,000  and  our  exports  to  $26,000,000. 
Now  our  imports  are  $847,000,000  and  our  exports  $1,030,000,000. 
Thirty-three  million  tons  of  freight  are  carried  on  our  Great  Lakes, 
whose  only  burden  then  was  the  Indian's  canoe.  Then  our  national 
wealth  was  inconsiderable;  now  our  assessed  valuation  amounts  to  the 
enormous  sum  of  $24,650,000,000.  Then  trade  and  travel  were  depend- 
ent upon  beasts  of  burden  and  sailing  vessels;  now  steam  and  electricity 
do  our  bidding,  railroads  cover  the  land,  boats  burden  the  waters,  the 
telegraph  reaches  even*  city  and  hamlet,  distance  is  annihilated,  and — 

Civilization,  on  her  luminous  wings, 
Soars,  Phoenix-like,  to  Jove. 

In  the  presence  of  this  wondrous  fulfillment  of  predicted  greatness 
prophecy  looks  out  upon  the  future  and  stands  dumb. 

When  this  corner  stone  was  laid,  France,  then  in  the  throes  of  revo- 
lution, had  just  declared  war  against  Great  Britain,  a  war  in  which  all 
Europe  eventually  became  involved.  Within  a  century  of  that  hour,  in 
the  capital  of  France,  there  convened  an  international  court,  its  pre- 
siding officer  an  eminent  citizen  of  the  French  Republic,  its  members 
representatives  of  sovereign  European  states,  its  object  the  peaceable 
adjustment  of  controversies  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States. 

Was  it  Richelieu,  Mr.  President,  who  said,  "Take  away  the  sword! 
States  can  be  saved  without  it  "? 

In  no  part  of  our  mechanism  of  government  was  the  wisdom  of  our 
fathers  more  strikingly  displayed  than  in  the  division  of  power  into 
the  three  great   departments — legislative  executive,  and  judicial.  In 


72 


Capitol  (  entemiial  (  elebration 


an  equal  degree  was  that  wisdom  manifested  by  the  division  of  the 
Congress  into  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives.  Upon  the  Sen- 
ate the  Constitution  has  devolved  important  functions  other  than  those 
of  a  mere  legislative  character.  Coequal  with  the  House  in  matters 
of  legislation,  it  is,  in  addition,  the  advisory  body  of  the  President  in 
appointments  to  office  and  in  treating  with  foreign  nations.  The 
mode  of  election,  together  with  the  long  term  of  service,  unquestion- 
ably fosters  a  spirit  of  conservatism  in  the  Senate.  Always  organized, 
it  is  the  continuing  body  of  our  National  Legislature.  Its  members 
change,  but  the  Senate  continues  the  same  now  as  at  the  first  hour  of 
the  Republic.    Before  no  human  tribunal  come  for  determination  issues 

of  weightier  moment.  It 
were  idle  to  doubt  that 
problems  yet  lie  in  our 
pathway  as  a  nation  as 
difficult  of  solution  as  any 
that  in  times  past  have 
tried  the  courage  or  tested 
the  wisdom  of  our  fathers. 

Yet  may  we  not  confi- 
dently abide  in  the  faith 
that  in  the  keeping  of 
those  who  succeed  the 
illustrious  sages  I  have 
named  the  dearest  inter- 
ests of  our  country  will 
be  faithfully  conserved, 
and,  in  the  words  of  an 
eminent  predecessor — 

Though  these  marble  walls 
molder  into  ruin,  the  Senate, 
in  another  age,  may  bear  into 
a  new  and  larger  chamber  the 
Constitution,  vigorous  and  in- 
violate, and  that  the  last  gen- 
eration of  posterity  shall  witness  the  deliberations  of  the  representatives  of 
American  States,  still  united,  prosperous,  and  free. 

And  may — 

Our  fathers'  God,  from  out  whose  hand 
The  centuries  fall  like  grains  of  sand — 

continue  to  the  American  people  throughout  all  the  ages  the  prosperity 
and  blessings  which  He  has  given  to  us  in  the  past. 

The  Marine  Band  then  played  a  potpourri  of  national  airs 
arranged  by  Professor  Fanciulli. 


At  the  Capitol 


73 


SPEAKER  CRISP'S  ADDRESS 

President  Cleveland  then  introduced,  to  respond  for  "The 
United  States  House  of  Representatives,"  Charles  Frederick 
Crisp,  Speaker  of  the  House,  who  was  received  with  cheer  upon 
cheer. 

Mr.  Crisp  said,  turning  to  President  Cleveland: 

Mr.  Chairman:  When  the  corner  stone  of  this  great  Capitol  was  laid, 
our  Constitution  was  not  six  years  old.  Government  by  the  people  had 
barely  reached  the  experimental  stage.  There 
were  but  fifteen  States  in  the  Union.  Our 
population  was  less  than  four  millions,  and  the 
House  of  Representatives,  for  which  I  now 
speak,  was  composed  of  only  one  hundred  and 
five  members.  To-day,  one  hundred  years 
thereafter,  our  Constitution  still  exists  unim- 
paired; government  by  the  people  has  been 
firmly  established;  our  population  exceeds 
sixty-seven  millions,  and  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives is  composed  of  three  hundred  and 
fifty-six  members. 

During  the  century  which  has  passed  since 
Washington  stood  where  we  now  stand,  the 
world  has  watched  with  wonder  and  amazement 
the  marvelous  growth  and  development  of  our 
country.  When  that  century  began  we  were 
"weak  in  resources,  burdened  with  debt,  just 
struggling  into  political  existence,  and  agitated 
by  the  heaving  waves  which  were  overturning 
European  thrones. ' '  Its  end  finds  us  strong  in 
resources,  strong  in  wealth  and  credit,  strong 
in  numbers,  and  strong  in  the  affection  of  an 
intelligent  and  united  people.  In  all  that  con- 
stitutes real  greatness  the  United  States  is  to-day  the  foremost  nation 
of  the  earth. 

In  behalf  of  all  present  I  am  sure  I  will  be  permitted  to  say  we 
devoutly  thank  Almighty  God  for  the  wisdom  and  patriotism  of  the 
founders  of  our  Government.  We  thank  Him  for  the  peace,  the  pros- 
perity, the  freedom,  and  the  happiness  of  our  people;  and  we  do  all 
most  sincerely  and  fervently  pray  that  our  constitutional  Union  may 
endure  forever. 

The  next  musical  number,  "The  Heavens  are  Telling,"  from 
the  "Creation,"  was  rendered  by  the  Centennial  Chorus,  accom- 
panied by  the  Marine  Band. 


74 


Capitol  (  €ntennial  ( 'elebration 


JUSTICE  BROWN'S  ADDRESS 


||    1   |   Justice  Henry  Billings  Brown, 


HE  President  then  introduced  Mr. 


"  The  Judiciary." 


|Te:     Mr.  Brown  said: 


j£j      Mr.  Chairman:  This  grand  and  beanifnl 


building,  whose  centennial  anniversary  we 


are  met  to  celebrate,  was  designed  primarily  as  the  official  abode  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  but  from  its  completion  to  the  present 
day  it  has  also  been  the  seat  of  its  highest  court.  The  judiciary  act 
of  1789  required  the  sessions  of  the  Supreme  Court  to  be  held  at  the 
seat  of  government,  which  was  then  the  city  of  New  York;  and  at 
the  Exchange  in  that  city,  in  February,  1790,  the  court  was  organ- 
ized, and  the  judges,  with  Chief  Justice  John  Jay  at  their  head,  were 
sworn  and  qualified  according  to  law.  Nothing  appears  to  have  been 
done,  however,  beyond  the  appointment  of  subordinate  officers  and  the 
entertainment  of  the  court  at  an  elaborate  banquet  ( a  feature  religiously 
commemorated  at  its  centennial  in  1890),  until  the  February  term  of 
1 79 1,  when  the  court  met  in  the  south  chamber  of  the  city  hall,  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  to  which  place  the  seat  of  government  had 
been  removed,  and  continued  its  sessions  there  until  1801,  when  it 
was  finally  transferred  to  Washington. 

Its  sessions  in  Philadelphia  would  not  have  been  memorable  but  for 
the  great  case  of  Chisholm  against  the  State  of  Georgia,  in  which  the 
majority  of  the  court  held  that  an  action  would  lie  by  an  individual 
against  a  sovereign  State  of  the  Union.  This  case  marked  the  begin- 
ning of  a  conflict  between  the  Federal  Government  and  the  States 
which  agitated  the  court  for  the  next  seventy  years,  and  still  occa- 
sionally engages  its  attention.  By  this  generation,  accustomed  as  it 
is  to  the  prompt  and  cheerful  acquiescence  of  the  public  in  its  deci- 
sions, the  excitement  created  by  this  case  can  scarcely  be  realized. 
The  State  of  Georgia  not  only  denied  its  obligation  to  appear,  pro- 
tested against  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court,  and  declined  even  to 
submit  an  argument  in  its  own  behalf,  but  refused  to  obey  the  judg- 
ment, and  denounced  the  penalty  of  death  against  anyone  who  should 
presume  to  execute  final  process  within  its  jurisdiction.  The  popu- 
lar prejudice  against  the  decision  finally  culminated  in  a  constitutional 
amendment  which  practically  nullified  the  judgment  of  the  court  and 
inhibited  private  actions  against  a  State.   Plain  as  this  provision  seems 


At  the  Capitol 


75 


to  be,  this  amendment,  so  far  from  putting  at  rest  the  suability  of  a 
State,  has  been  pregnant  with  litigation  to  the  present  day. 

The  vigorous  life  of  the  Supreme  Court  may  be  said  to  have  begun 
with  the  appointment  of  John  Marshall  as  Chief  Justice,  and  the 
contemporaneous  transfer  of  its  sessions  to  a  room  in  the  basement  of 
this  Capitol,  beneath  the  Chamber  of  the  Senate.  The  court  met  here 
in  August,  1S01,  and  for  the  next  sixty  years,  the  most  important  in 
the  history  of  the  court,  this  vaulted  and  gloomy  crypt  continued  to 
be  its  home.  In  this  apartment  were  pronounced  the  great  opinions 
which  established  the  fame  of  Marshall  as  the  expounder  of  the 
Constitution  and  the  foremost  jurist  of  the  century.  The  Constitution 
had  been  adopted  by  the  vote  of  the  thirteen  States  of  the  Union,  but 
its  construction  was  a  work  scarcely  less  important  than  its  original 
creation.  With  a  large  liberty  of  choice,  guided  by  no  precedents, 
and  generally  unhampered  by  his  colleagues  upon  the  bench,  the  great 
Chief  Justice,  determining  what  the  law  was  by  what  he  thought  it 
ought  to  be,  evolved,  from  his  own  experience  of  the  defects  of  the 
Articles  of  Confederation  and  from  an  innate  consciousness  of  what  the 
country  required,  a  theory  of  construction  which  time  has  vindicated 
and  the  popular  sentiment  of  succeeding  generations  has  approved. 
In  the  case  of  Marbury  v.  Madison,  which  arose  at  his  very  first  term, 
he  declared  the  judicial  power  to  extend  to  the  annulment  of  an  act 
of  Congress  in  conflict  with  the  Constitution,  a  doctrine  peculiar  to 
this  country,  but  so  commending  itself  to  the  common  sense  of  justice 
as  to  have  been  incorporated  in  the  jurisprudence  of  every  State  in 
the  Union.  The  lack  of  this  check  upon  the  action  of  the  legislature 
has  wrecked  the  constitution  of  many  a  foreign  state,  and  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  our  own  would  not  have  long  survived  a  contrary  decision. 
Had  Marshall  rendered  no  other  service  to  the  country,  this  of  itself 
would  have  been  sufficient  to  entitle  him  to  its  gratitude. 

The  fame  of  Marshall  rests  upon  less  than  thirty  of  his  opinions. 
He  rarely  cited  an  authority,  but  the  reasons  he  gave  were  so  cogent 
that  no  amount  of  authority  would  have  strengthened  them.  While  his 
opinions  lack  the  exhaustive  research  of  Justice  Storv's,  they  surpass 
them  in  vigorous  logic,  and  seem  like  the  summing  up  and  compendium 
of  all  prior  adjudications  upon  the  subject.  His  associates  upon  the 
bench  were  worthy  compeers  of  such  a  man.  Beside  him  sat  Bushrod 
WASHINGTON,  a  favorite  nephew  of  the  General;  a  man  of  small  and 
emaciated  frame,  but  a  laborious  student,  sound  in  judgment,  "clear  in 
statement  and  learned  in  discussion;"  a  Federalist  of  the  Marshall  type 
and  a  judge  "fearless,  dignified,  and  enlightened,"  whose  opinions  have 
always  commanded  the  respect  of  the  profession.  Here  also  sat  Wil- 
liam Patersox,  who  had  been  a  Senator  from  New  Jersey,  and  one 
of  the  authors  of  the  famous  judiciary  act  of  1789.  Here,  too,  was 
Story,  who  has  been  called  the  Walter  Scott  of  the  common  law, 


76 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


the  foremost  juridical  writer  of  his  age,  a  student  whose  passion  for 
research  halted  not  at  the  confines  of  the  law  of  England  and  America, 
but  embraced  all  that  was  accessible  in  the  ancient  and  modern  juris- 
prudence of  continental  Europe — an  author  whose  works  were  as  well 
known  and  much  respected  in  Westminster  Hall  as  in  the  court  rooms 
of  his  native  country.  While  his  fame  as  a  writer  has  eclipsed  to  a 
certain  extent  his  labors  as  a  judge,  his  opinion  upon  circuit  in  the  case 
of  De  Lovio  v.  Boit  is  unsurpassed  in  learning  and  research,  and  may  be 
justly  said  to  have  laid  the  foundations  of  our  admiralty  jurisprudence. 

The  bar  was  not  less  illustrious  than  the  bench.  At  its  head  was 
Edmund  Randolph,  first  Attorney-General  of  the  United  vStates,  whose 
fearless  conduct  of  the  Chisholm  case  against  the  State  of  Georgia,  un- 
popular as  it  was,  elicited  even  the  admiration  of  his  enemies;  William 
Pincknev,  the  most  eminent  lawyer  of  his  age,  who  united  profundity 
of  thought  and  brilliancy  of  expression  to  an  extent  never  equaled, 
except  possibly  by  Rufus  Choate;  William  Wirt,  the  most  persua- 
sive orator  of  the  bar,  who  argued  against  his  native  State  the  power  of 
Congress  to  incorporate  a  bank;  General  Walter  Jones,  pronounced 
by  Marshall  "  the  finest  constitutional  lawyer  who  ever  argued  a 
case  before  him;"  Daniel  Webster,  then  in  the  fullness  of  his  intel- 
lectual vigor,  pleading  in  a  voice  choked  with  emotion  for  the  life  of 
his  alma  mater,  and  later  defending  the  Christian  religion  against  an 
alleged  stigma  cast  upon  it  in  the  will  of  Stephen  Girard;  Dexter, 
of  Massachusetts;  Hoffman,  Ogden,  and  Emmet,  of  New  York; 
Ingersoll,  Sargent,  and  Binnev,  of  Pennsylvania;  Martin  and 
Harper,  of  Maryland,  and  a  score  of  others  scarcely  less  notable,  who 
contributed  to  make  of  this  the  golden  age  of  American  orator}-. 

The  first  and  what  may  be  termed  the  Federalistic  era  of  the  Supreme 
Court  terminated  with  the  death  of  Marshall  in  1835.  In  a  judicial 
career  of  thirty-four  years  he  had  so  borne  himself  as  not  only  to  win 
the  applause  of  his  friends  but  the  respect  of  his  political  opponents. 
He  had  not  only  settled  the  construction  of  the  Constitution  upon  a 
broad  and  liberal  basis,  but  he  had  immeasurably  increased  the  impor- 
tance of  the  court.  From  a  tribunal  of  little  apparent  consequence  he 
had  raised  it  to  the  dignity  of  a  coordinate  branch  of  the  Government. 

It  seems  somewhat  strange  to  the  present  generation  that  the  first 
Chief  Justice  should  have  resigned  to  accept  the  governorship  of  New 
York,  and  have  subsequently  declined  a  reappointment  because,  to 
use  his  own  language,  he  was  "perfectly  convinced  that  under  a  sys- 
tem so  defective  it  would  not  obtain  the  energy,  weight,  and  dignity 
which  were  essential  to  its  affording  due  support  to  the  National  Gov- 
ernment, nor  acquire  the  public  confidence  and  respect  which,  as  the 
Jast  resort  of  the  justice  of  the  nation,  it  should  possess."  The  little 
esteem  in  which  the  court  was  held  induced  Harrison,  a  nominee  of 
Washington,  to  decline  a  seat  upon  the  bench  to  take  the  chancel- 


At  the  Capitol 


77 


lorship  of  Maryland;  and  its  removal  to  this  city  seemed  of  so  little 
importance  that  its  first  meeting  and  organization  here  were  noticed 
by  only  a  single  sentence  in  the  National  Intelligencer. 

The  death  of  Marshall  was  soon  followed  by  the  elevation  of  Roger 
B.  Taxev  to  the  Chief  Justiceship,  and  an  almost  entire  reconstruction 
of  the  bench  by  Jackson  and  Van  Buren.  This,  which  may  be  called 
the  States'  rights  era,  continued  until  the  middle  of  the  civil  war,  when 
the  court  was  again  partly  reconstructed  by  President  Lincoln.  While 
Chief  Justice  Taney  went  upon  the  bench  staggering  under  a  load  of 
unpopularity  in  the  Whig  States — an  unpopularity  which  had  once 
caused  his  rejection  by  the  Senate  for  the  office  of  Associate  Justice — 
it  must  be  conceded  that  he        /  /  ^ 


of  distinguished  ability  and  large  expe-  ^ 
rience — John  McLean,  of  Ohio,  whose  dissenting  opinion  in  the 
great  case  of  Pri gg  against  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  read 
after  the  lapse  of  fifty  years,  makes  us  wonder  the  majority  of  the 
court  could  have  gone  so  far  astray;  Wayne,  of  Georgia,  and  Catron, 
of  Tennessee,  who  earned  at  least  the  gratitude  of  the  North  for 
their  resolute  adherence  to  the  Union  after  the  outbreak  of  the  civil 
war;  Peter  V.  Daniel,  of  Virginia,  the  strongest  champion  of  States' 
rights  who  ever  sat  upon  the  bench,  a  man  of  great  learning,  sturdy 
independence,  and  strict  integrity,  who  devoted  a  long  judicial  life  of 
nineteen  years  largely  to  the  writing  of  dissenting  opinions;  Nelson, 
of  New  York,  of  venerable  and  leonine  aspect;  Grier,  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, who  had  well  earned  the  compliment  paid  him  by  President 
Grant  upon  his  retirement,  that  by  his  patriotic  firmness  he  had 
"  upheld  the  just  powers  of  the  Government  and  vindicated  the  right 


78 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


of  the  nation  to  maintain  its  own  existence;"  Benjamin  R.  Curtis, 
of  Massachusetts,  one  of  the  greatest  minds  that  ever  adorned  the  bench, 
who  would  have  been  the  most  eminent  judge  of  the  court  if  he  had 
not  resigned  after  a  service  of  six  years  to  become  its  most  eminent 
practitioner. 

In  i860,  after  the  removal  of  the  Senate  to  its  new  Chamber  in  the 
north  wing  of  the  Capitol,  the  Supreme  Court  was  transferred  to  the 
room  it  now  occupies.  This  room,  beautiful  in  itself,  and  made  more 
beautiful  by  the  removal  of  the  galleries  which  had  encircled  its  walls, 
had  already  become  historic  as  the  theater  of  the  greatest  forensic  dis- 
plays of  an  age  when  oratory  had  still  preserved  its  classic  traditions 
and  had  lost  nothing  of  its  potency  as  a  moving  power  of  legislative 
bodies.  But  the  great  men  of  that  generation  were  no  longer  there. 
Webster,  Clav,  Calhoun,  Benton,  and  Wright  were  all  dead,  and 
a  new  generation  of  Senators  had  risen  up  to  take  their  places.  The 
days  of  eloquent  appeal,  fierce  denunciation,  and  heated  strife  were 
past.  Henceforth  this  Chamber  was  dedicated  to  the  calm  deliberations 
of  the  bench. 

The  third  era  of  the  Supreme  Court,  which  continues  to  this  day, 
may  be  said  to  have  begun  in  1862  with  the  appointment  of  Justices 
Swayne,  Miller,  and  Davis,  and  the  subsequent  elevation  of  Chase 
to  the  Chief  Justiceship.  This  era,  too,  has  been  productive  of  great 
judges.  Time  forbids  that  I  should  do  more  than  mention  the  name 
of  Chase,  whose  laurels  as  the  great  War  Secretary  were  not  dimmed 
by  his  service  upon  the  bench;  of  WaiTE,  the  very  ideal  of  an  accom- 
plished lawyer  and  courtly  gentleman;  of  Miller,  whose  massive  head 
did  not  belie  his  massive  intellect,  and  whose  fame  as  a  constitutional 
lawyer  is  second  only  to  that  of  the  great  Chief  Justice;  of  Matthews, 
a  patriotic  soldier,  a  Senator  of  the  United  States,  and  the  most  elo- 
quent orator  of  the  court;  of  the  chivalrous  Lamar,  whose  kindly 
smile  and  genial  manner  captivated  the  hearts  of  men  and  women 
alike;  of  Bradley,  who  concealed  beneath  the  visage  of  an  Italian 
cardinal  the  most  marvelous  versatility  of  genius,  a  lawyer  equally  at 
home  in  all  branches  of  the  profession,  real  estate,  mining,  patents, 
equity,  admiralty,  and  the  civil  law,  a  linguist,  a  mathematician,  an 
astronomer,  and  a  philosopher;  and  the  lamented  Blatchford,  pains- 
taking and  indefatigable,  who  loved  work  for  its  own  sake,  and  whom 
the  allurements  of  an  ample  fortune  could  not  seduce  from  his  chosen 
field  of  labor. 

It  is  invidious  to  speak  of  the  living,  yet  I  can  not  forbear  alluding 
to  the  venerable  survivor  of  that  illustrious  trio  who  for  more  than 
twenty  years  swayed  the  opinion  of  the  court;  one  who  sits  with 
us  to-day,  his  eye  not  yet  dimmed  nor  his  natural  force  abated,  a 
reminder  of  what  the  court  has  been  in  the  past,  a  promise  of  what  it 
shall  continue  to  be  in  the  future. 


At  the  C  apztol 


79 


It  does  not  become  me  to  eulogize  the  Supreme  Court,  but  it  may 
be  justly  said  that  while  it  has  had  weak  men  history  makes  no  men- 
tion of  its  having  had  a  corrupt  one. 

If  as  at  present  constituted  it  neglects  to  fulfill  its  mission  it  will 
not  be  from  a  failure  of  its  members  to  fully  appreciate  their  respon- 
sibility or  the  lack  of  an  earnest  desire  to  meet  the  just  expectations 
of  the  people. 

I  can  not  better  close  than  by  reiterating  the  hope  expressed  by 
the  House  of  Representatives  in  its  reply  to  President  Adams  upon 
the  dedication  of  this  building,  that — 

The  spirit  which  animated  the  great  founder  of  this  city  may  descend  to  future 
generations,  and  that  the  wisdom,  magnanimity,  and  steadiness  which  mark  the 
events  of  his  public  life  may  be  imitated  in  all  succeeding  ages. 

Next  on  the  programme  was  the  "Centennial  March,"  com- 
posed by  Professor  Fanciulli  for  the  occasion,  and  rendered  by 
the  full  Marine  Band  with  exquisite  effect. 

COMMISSIONER  PARKER'S  ADDRESS 

After  the  applause  with  which  the  music  was  received  had 
somewhat  subsided,  President  CLEVELAND  announced  that  "The 
District  of  Columbia"  would  be  responded  for  by  Air.  Myron  M. 
Parker,  one  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  Mr.  John  W.  Ross,  President  of  the  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners of  the  District  of  Columbia,  having  been  prevented  by  an 
accident  from  making  preparation  for  that  duty. 

Mr.  Parker,  turning  toward  Mr.  Cleveland,  said: 

Mr.  Chairman:  The  ceremonies  that  are  transpiring  here  to-day 
will  occupy  an  important  page  in  the  history  of  our  country.  The  cele- 
bration of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  corner 
stone  of  the  United  States  Capitol  will  be  of  unusual  interest  to  the 
people  of  our  land,  while  to  the  citizens  of  Washington  it  is  an  event 
of  more  than  local  importance,  since  it  will  emphasize  our  wondrous 
growth  and  greatness.  All  Governments  point  with  pride  to  their 
respective  capitals.  To  speak  of  London  is  to  refer  to  England;  the 
name  of  Paris  covers  that  of  France.  If  you  would  refer  to  Austria, 
you  have  only  to  mention  Vienna;  while  Rome,  with  her  eternal 
hills,  overshadows  Italy.  So,  too,  of  our  own  beloved  country,  a 
unification  of  States,  with  a  rapidly  increasing  population  of  sixty-five 
millions  of  people,  every  one  of  whom  is  thrilled  with  pride  and 
patriotism  at  the  mention  of  Washington,  their  beautiful  capital. 

The  application  of  these  proceedings  from  an  executive,  legislative, 
and  judicial  standpoint  has  been  appropriately  considered  by  the  Pres- 


So 


Capitol  C  entennial  Celebration 


ident  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  by  the  honorable  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  by  Mr.  Justice  Brown,  of  the 
Supreme  Court;  and  from  a  national  standpoint  in  an  eloquent  address 
by  the  Hon.  William  Wikt  Henry,  of  Virginia.  It  is  fitting,  there- 
fore, that  as  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  District  of  Columbia  I 
should  speak  of  the  event  which  these  imposing  ceremonies  comme- 
morate with  respect  to  the  influences  which  have  resulted  to  the  city 
of  Washington  locally.  To  properly  discuss  this  subject  would  occupy 
much  more  than  the  time  allotted  me  by  the  Committee.  I  must 
therefore  refer  briefly  to  some  of  the  material  points. 

The  location  of  the  national  capital  was  a  subject  of  much  contention 
between  the  North  and  the  South.  Claimants  for  the  honor  of  provid- 
ing a  permanent  seat  of  government 
were  made  unyielding  in  their  de- 
mands by  State  pride  and  State  jeal- 
ousy. Sectional  animosities  also  added 
to  the  bitterness  of  the  controversy. 

Congress  found  this  subject  a  fruit- 
ful source  of  wrangling.  This  body 
met  in  different  places,  according  as 
convenience  suggested  or  necessity- 
compelled,  naming  from  time  to  time 
different  locations,  only  to  reverse  its 
decision  at  the  next  discussion  of  the 
subject.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
the  proposed  site  on  the  Potomac,  sup- 
ported by  many  Southern  members, 
was  repeatedly  rejected. 

In  1783  a  location  on  the  Delaware 
was  thought  more  desirable  than  the 
one  on  the  Potomac,  and  in  1784 
Congress  appointed  a  commission  to 
select  a  site  upon  the  former  river. 

That  this  selection  was  not  made 
is  well  known  to  the  country,  and 
the  contention  was  left  to  the  first  Congress  meeting  under  the  Con- 
stitution. Upon  the  meeting  of  this  body  the  wrangle  became  more 
heated  than  ever  before.  Philadelphia,  Germantown,  Havre  de  Grace, 
Wrights  Ferry,  on  the  Susquehanna,  and  a  location  on  the  Potomac 
were  each  urged  as  having  the  strongest  claims. 

The  persistency  of  Mr.  Madison  and  other  Southern  members  finally 
prevailed,  and  in  July,  1790,  the  House,  by  a  vote  of  thirty-two  to 
twenty-nine,  and  the  Senate,  by  a  vote  of  fourteen  to  twelve,  decided 
in  favor  of  the  Potomac. 


At  the  Capitol 


81 


After  years  of  preparation  for  the  event,  during  which  period  the 
site  was  selected  by  President  WASHINGTON,  work  on  the  several 
buildings  was  begun,  and  Washington,  as  the  nation's  capital,  came 
into  being. 

Since  1800,  the  date  on  which  the  archives  of  the  Government  were 
brought  from  Philadelphia  in  ' '  seven  large  boxes  and  four  or  five 
smaller  ones,"  there  have  been  periodical  attempts  to  remove  the  seat 
of  government,  which  removal  would,  of  course,  have  been  the  death 
knell  of  Washington.  An  Englishman  named  Weld,  who  visited  the 
future  capital  in  1796,  said: 

Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  done  at  the  city  and  the  large  sums  of  money 
which  have  been  expended,  there  are  numbers  of  people  in  the  United  States 
living  to  the  north  of  the  Potomac,  particularly  in  Philadelphia,  who  are  still 
very  adverse  to  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government  thither,  and  are  doing  all 
in  their  power  to  check  the  progress  of  the  buildings  in  the  city  and  to  prevent 
the  Congress  from  meeting  there  at  the  appointed  time. 

A  sample  of  the  attacks  upon  the  capital  may  be  found  in  Crito's 
Letters  on  the  Seat  of  Government,  published  in  1S07.    He  says: 

In  the  meantime  be  it  known  to  the  good  people  of  the  Union  from  New 
Hampshire  to  Georgia  (for  I  may  presume  without  fear  of  contradiction  that 
ninety-nine  hundredths  of  the  youth  of  the  United  States  grow  up  to  manhood 
without  ever  having  seen  the  capital  of  their  country  |  that  the  national  bantling 
called  the  city  of  Washington  remains,  after  ten  years  of  expensive  fostering,  a 
rickety  infant,  unable  to  go  alone.  Nature  will  not  be  forced.  A  sickly  child 
can  not  be  dressed  and  dandled  into  a  healthy  constitution.  This  embryo  of 
the  state  will  always  be  a  disappointment  to  its  parents,  a  discredit  to  the  fond 
opinions  of  its  worthy  godfathers  and  godmothers,  and  an  eyesore  to  all  its 
relations  to  the  remotest  degree  of  consanguinity. 

Crito  concludes  his  advice  by  recommending  that  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment be  removed  to  Philadelphia. 

The  last  attempt  to  remove  the  capital  was  made  in  1869  by  L.  U. 
Reavis  and  others,  in  and  out  of  Congress,  St.  Louis  being  the  city 
that  was  to  become  the  future  capital.    Mr.  Reavis,  in  his  book,  says: 

I  unhesitatingly  answer  that  the  change  will  be  made  within  five  years  from 
January  1,  1S69,  and  before  1875  the  President  of  the  United  States  will  deliver 
his  message  at  the  new  seat  of  government  in  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

There  were  many  influences  about  this  time  which  tended  to  check 
and  finally  to  wipe  out  all  efforts  having  in  view  the  removal  of  the 
capital. 

Under  the  leadership  of  a  man  of  high  character,  great  executive 
ability  and  determination,  a  man  with  broad,  comprehensive  views,  a 
system  of  public  improvements  was  inaugurated  and  carried  to  a  suc- 
cessful conclusion  which  so  changed  the  character  and  condition  of  our 
city  as  to  place  it  at  the  beginning  of  a  new  era,  an  era  of  prosperity 
which  in  an  unprecedented  manner  has  continued  to  exist  and  which 
H.  Mis.  211  6 


82 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


will  continue  to  exist  so  long  as  the  Government  lasts.  As  Baron 
Haussmann  was  to  Paris  so  was  Governor  SHEPHERD  to  Washington. 
Under  his  guiding  hand  a  new  city  was  born,  the  hopes  of  the  immortal 
Washington  and  L' Enfant  were  realized,  and  Washington  was  finally 
accepted  by  the  people  of  the  United  States  as  the  national  capital,  the 
nation's  home. 

Let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  the  physical  conditions  of  the  city  up 
to  1875.    Charles  W.  Janskn,  an  Englishman,  said  of  us  in  1806: 

Strangers,  after  viewing  the  offices  of  state,  are  apt  to  inquire  for  the  city  while 
they  are  in  its  very  center. 

Oliver  Wolcott,  while  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  Mrs.  Presi- 
dent Adams  complained  of  the  scattered  condition  of  the  houses.  In 
18 14,  after  the  Secretary  of  War  had  sneered  at  the  suggestion  that 
the  British  might  molest  the  "  Sheep-walk,  "  and  after  the  national 
representatives,  more  than  our  own  local  defenders,  had  permitted  the 
city  to  be  captured,  it  had  the  following  appearance: 

Twelve  or  fifteen  clusters  of  houses,  at  a  considerable  distance  from  each  other, 
bringing  to  our  recollection  the  appearance  of  a  camp  of  nomad  Arabs,  which, 
however,  if  connected  together,  would  make  a  very  respectable  town,  not  much 
inferior,  perhaps,  to  the  capital  of  Virginia,  the  whole  of  it,  when  seen  from  the 
ruins  of  our  public  edifices,  looking  more  like  the  place  where  proud  Washington 
once  stood  than  where  humble  Washington  now  lies. 

In  1839,  GEORGE  Combe,  the  British  traveler,  described  the  city  as 
"like  a  large  straggling  village  reared  in  a  drained  swamp." 

At  about  this  period  our  corporation  laws  prohibited  hogs  from 
running  at  large  ' '  south  of  Massachusetts  avenue  ' '  under  penalty  of 
seizure.  All  the  land  north  of  that  avenue  was  free  pasturage.  As 
late  as  1862,  speaking  of  Massachusetts  avenue,  Anthony  Trollope 
says: 

Massachusetts  avenue  runs  the  whole  length  of  the  city,  and  is  inserted  on  the 
maps  as  a  full-blown  street  about  four  miles  in  length.  Go  there  and  you  will  find 
yourself  not  only  out  of  town,  away  among  the  fields,  but  you  will  find  yourself 
beyond  the  fields,  in  an  uncultivated  wilderness.  Tucking  your  trousers  up  to 
your  knees,  you  will  wade  through  the  bogs,  you  will  lose  yourself  among  rude 
hillocks,  you  will  be  out  of  the  reach  of  humanity. 

Let  us  contrast  this  truthful  description  of  thirty  years  ago  with  the 
present  Massachusetts  avenue,  lined  on  either  side  with  magnificent 
residences,  and  we  can  reach  a  fair  conclusion  of  the  phenomenal  growth 
and  prosperity  of  Washington.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States 
selected  Washington  and  laid  it  out  on  a  magnificent  scale,  the  wisdom 
of  which  has  been  justified  by  the  experience  of  a  century.  So  broad 
and  comprehensive  was  this  plan  that  our  people  found  themselves 
almost  in  a  condition  of  bankruptcy  in  their  effort,  unaided  by  the 
General  Government,  to  erect  buildings  and  improve  streets. 


At  the  Capitol 


83 


We  find,  therefore,  that  after  much  wrangling  and  contention  the 
capital  was  located  on  the  Potomac,  in  a  comparative  wilderness,  and 
abandoned  by  the  General  Government  so  far  as  financial  aid  was 
concerned. 

Congress,  while  liberal  in  the  expenditure  of  the  people's  money, 
declined  to  appropriate  money  to  make  the  national  capital  attractive. 
For  years  the  capital  intrusted  to  its  keeping  continued  to  be  an  object 
of  derision  and  contempt.  Aye,  more  than  that — it  contributed  by  its 
own  neglect  to  make  more  wretched  the  city's  forlorn  condition,  and 
then  joined  in  the  laugh  at  the  latter' s  expense. 

Finding  this  to  be  the  unhappy  condition,  let  me  occupy  a  moment 
of  your  time  with  a  brief  statement  of  what  our  city  has  done  for 
itself  and  the  General  Government. 

First,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  United  States  owns  one-half 
of  all  the  property  in  the  District,  on  which  it  pays  no  taxes,  and 
prior  to  1878  it  never  contributed  anything  for  the  support  of  our 
local  government. 

When  the  capital  was  located  in  Washington  our  citizens  donated 
five-sevenths  of  all  the  land  in  the  city  of  Washington  for  streets 
and  avenues — fifty-four  per  cent  of  the  entire  area  for  parks  and  res- 
ervations, or  five  hundred  and  forty-one  acres.  One-half  of  all  the 
city  lots  were  given  to  help  erect  public  buildings  and  to  open  and 
improve  streets.  Up  to  1835  the  citizens  (the  population  at  that  time 
had  only  reached  thirteen  thousand  )  had  expended  for  street  improve- 
ments, mostly  around  public  buildings,  $430,000;  the  United  States, 
$209,000.  From  1790  to  1878,  almost  a  century,  the  Government 
expended  (aside  from  public  buildings)  less  than  $6,000,000;  the  citi- 
zens, $45,000,000.  From  1879  to  1887  our  people  invested  in  new 
buildings  $32,000,000.  They  paid  a  direct  tax  of  $20,000  for  the  war 
of  18 12,  fitted  up  a  building  for  Congress  when  the  Capitol  was  burned, 
and  tendered  a  loan  of  $500,000  to  rebuild  the  public  buildings,  which 
Congress  accepted.  During  the  last  war  we  paid  a  direct  tax  of 
$50,000.  We  have  paid  an  internal-revenue  tax  of  $6,454,907,  and  in 
one  year  twice  as  much  as  any  of  the  Territories,  except  Dakota,  and 
more  than  either  of  the  States  of  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Maine,  Missis- 
sippi, Nevada,  South  Carolina,  or  Vermont. 

We  supplied  our  share  of  volunteers  for  the  war  of  18 12  and  the 
Mexican  war.  In  the  late  war  we  furnished  our  full  quota  and 
eighteen  and  one-half  per  cent  over,  while  but  seven  States  filled 
their  quota  and  only  one  equaled  the  District.  In  the  late  war  the 
first  volunteers  were  citizens  of  the  District. 

The  Government  has  given  to  the  States  $28,000,000  in  money, 
90,000,000  acres  of  public  lands  for  schools  and  155,000,000  acres 
for  railroads.  The  District  of  Columbia  has  never  been  given  a  dollar 
or  an  acre  of  ground. 


84 


Capital  Centennial  Celebration 


It  must  not  be  thought  that  we  do  not  appreciate  the  benefits  that 
have  resulted  from  the  millions  that  have  been  expended  by  the 
Government  in  the  erection  of  public  buildings,  nor  are  we  unmindful 
of  the  fact  that  since  1878  the  Government  has  borne  her  share  of  the 
expenses:  but  we  do  claim  that  Washington  has  done  far  more  for 
herself  and  the  General  Government  than  should  have  been  expected 
by  Congress. 

We  have  had  three  different  forms  of  government.  From  January 
23,  1791,  to  June  1,  1802,  the  local  government  was  vested  in  a  board 
of  three  Commissioners  appointed  by  the  President.  From  1802  to 
1812  the  Mayor  was  appointed  by  the  President.    From  1812  to  1820 


have  been  selected  for  the  high  and  responsible  position  of  Commis- 
sioners have  been  men  of  high  character,  every  dollar  contributed  by 
our  taxpayers  and  the  General  Government  having  been  religiously 
accounted  for.  The  government  of  the  District  of  Columbia  is  free 
from  even  the  suspicion  of  jobbery. 

Our  population  in  1796  was  1,493;  m  i860,  75,080;  while  to-day  we 
number  about  280,000. 

Since  June  11,  1878,  Congress  has  appropriated  annually  fifty  per 
cent  of  the  approved  estimates  for  expenditures  of  the  District,  the 
remaining  fifty  per  cent  being  raised  by  taxation  on  the  property. 

The  relations  between  the  people  of  the  District  and  Congress  have 
been  strengthened  and  unified  from  year  to  year.  We  are  no  longer 
regarded  as  mendicants,  and  our  treatment  is  liberal  and  in  keeping 
with  the  progress  and  dignity  of  the  capital  of  a  great  republic. 


the  Mayor  was  elected  by  the 
Aldermen  and  Common  Coun- 
cil. In  1 87 1  the  government 
was  changed  to  Territorial  in 
form  and  so  continued  until 
1874,  first  Henry  D.  Cooke 


and  later  Alexander  R. 
|fe  Shepherd  having  been  ap- 
$y  pointed  governors  by  the  Pres- 


W,  ident.  Congress,  in  1874, 
^5,  again  changed  our  govern- 
r  ment  to  a  board  of  three 
fc    Commissioners  to  be  ap- 


£S  pointed  by  the  President. 
^;  This  form  of  government  is 
„  now  in  force,  and  is  believed 
to  be  the  best  municipal  form 
of  government  in  existence. 
Under  its  provisions  we  are 
free  from  political  broils  and 
entanglements.    Those  w  h  o 


At  the  Capitol 


85 


From  a  wretched  beginning  Washington  has  grown  to  be  the  fairest 
and  most  attractive  city  in  the  land,  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  in  the  world.  We  have  upward  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  of  smooth  asphalted  streets,  fringed  on  either  side  by  the 
luxurious  and  welcome  shade  of  overhanging  trees.  Great  national 
parks  environ  the  city.  Under  the  provisions  of  a  recent  act  of  Con- 
gress the  magnificent  plan  of  Washington  will  be  continued  and  our 
broad  streets  and  avenues  will  soon  touch  the  District  line.  Years  ago 
the  rim  of  Washington  was  knocked  off  by  our  rapidly  increasing 
population;  Boundary  street  has  been  wiped  out;  our  limits  are  now 
the  boundaries  of  the  District. 

The  broad  waters  of  the  Potomac  flow 
on  to  the  ocean  kissing  the  silent,  sacred 
shores  of  Mount  Vernon.  As  all  roads  are 
said  to  have  led  to  Rome,  so  do  all  ave- 
nues of  culture  lead  to  Washington. 

Our  public  and  private  schools  are  un- 
surpassed. Already  we  have  become  a 
great  literary,  art,  and  scientific  center. 
Universities  representing  different  denomi- 
nations have  been  and  are  being  founded, 
with  such  unusual  advantages  as  to  attract 
the  youth  from  all  sections  of  our  land. 
The  capital,  our  climate,  our  city,  our 
people,  the  advantages  which  result  from 
the  fostering  care  of  the  Government,  such 
as  the  National  Museum,  collections  of 
natural  history,  a  Government  library, 
models  representing  the  inventive  genius 
of  a  century,  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  the  diplomatic  representatives  of 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  all  conspire  to 
attract  to  us  the  cultured,  the  influential, 
the  wealthy  people  of  the  world. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  overestimate 
our  future  possibilities.  Our  growth  and  prosperity  will  be  an  evi- 
dence and  a  result  of  national  progress  and  greatness.  No  people 
are  more  loyal,  generous,  and  hospitable  than  ours;  no  city  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  more  attractive. 

The  District's  second  century  will  be  but  an  echo  of  national  ad- 
vancement. We  have  already  more  than  realized  the  fondest  hopes 
of  our  founders;  Washington  is  the  ideal  city  of  the  world. 

The  day  ceremonies  at  the  Capitol  then  closed  with  the  singing 
of  "America,"  the  Centennial  Chorus  being  accompanied  by  the 


86 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


Marine  Band,  and  the  multitude  joining  in  the  singing  with  great 
enthusiasm.  The  volume  of  sound  from  the  voices  of  the  thou- 
sands present  was  such  as  had  never  been  heard  before  on  any 
similar  occasion. 


The  night  of  September  18,  1893,  was  dark,  bnt  the  arches  of 
gas  jets  in  front  of  the  great  white  building  threw  a  glare  of  light 
over  the  grand  stands,  gleaming  upon  the  scarlet  uniforms  of  the 
Marine  Band  and  over  the  Centennial  Chorus,  which  occupied 
the  south  stand. 

At  6  o'clock  the  Centennial  Chimes  of  thirteen  bells  rang  out 
clearly  and  distinctly  the  evening  programme  heretofore  given. 
During  the  pealing  of  the  chimes  the  crowd  had  begun  to  col- 
lect at  the  east  front  of  the  Capitol,  and  when  8  o'clock  arrived, 
the  hour  for  the  opening  of  the  grand  out-of-door  night  concert, 
the  stands  were  filled  to  their  utmost  capacity,  while,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  newspapers  of  the  day — 

The  whole  of  the  open  space  before  the  east  front  of  the  Capitol 
was  filled  with  a  closely  packed  mass  of  humanity  that  extended  out 


came  a  great  semicircle  of  closely  packed  carriages,  and  beyond  that 
again,  swarming  over  the  grass  plots,  packed  in  tiers  over  the  great 
ornamental  urns,  on  the  coping  wall,  and  into  East  Capitol  street, 
stretched  the  crowd. 

It  was  shortly  after  8  o'clock  when  the  first  strains  of  Professor 
Faxciulli's  grand  march,  "The  National  Capitol  Centennial," 


NIGHT  CONCERT 


over  the  grass  plots  back  of 
the  Greenough  statue  and 
north  and  south  past  the 
broad  steps  of  the  House 
and  Senate  wings.  A  sight 
of  the  great  crowd  from  the 
lower  gallery  of  the  dome 
conveyed  some  idea  of  what 
is  meant  by  "a  sea  of 
heads. ' '  Two-thirds  of  the 
way  across  the  plaza  one 
could  have  walked  on  the 
heads  of  the  crowd  with  no 
danger  of  falling  through 
a  chance  opening.  Then 


At  the  Capitol  87 

rendered  with  exquisite  accuracy,  floated  upon  the  still  night 
The  great  building,  acting  as  a  giant  sounding-board,  gave  back 
the  echoes,  throwing  the  sound  far  out  across  the  open  space. 

The  Centennial  Chorus,  who  were  present  to  the  full  number 
of  fifteen  hundred,  then  sang  "The  Heavens  Are  Telling."  The 
chorus  was  in  fine  voice  and  sang  well  together  under  the  magnetic 
leadership  of  Professor  Cloward,  the  clear  notes  of  the  sopranos 


being  distinctly  heard  by  persons  on  the  upper  tier  of  the  dome  of 
the  Capitol,  nearly  three  hundred  feet  distant.  The  vast  audience 
appreciated  the  grand  music,  and  as  the  last  notes  of  the  chorus 
died  away,  broke  out  in  prolonged  cheers. 

The  Marine  Band  then  rendered  the  overture  from  "Semira- 
mide,"  and  were  followed  by  the  Centennial  Chorus  in  "Home, 


88  Capitol  C  entennial  Celebration 

Sweet  Home,"  accompanied  by  the  Marine  Band.  Then  it  was 
that  the  enthusiasm  of  the  crowd  was  made  manifest  by  cheer  on 
cheer,  which  continued  as  the  Marine  Band  played  Fanciulu's 
merry  descriptive  music,  "A  Trip  to  Manhattan  Beach." 

The  Centennial  Chorus,  accompanied  by  the  Marine  Band,  and 
at  times  by  the  audience,  then  sang  "Hail  Columbia,"  the  enthu- 
siastic multitude  insisting  upon  an  encore,  and  being  rewarded  by 
the  Marine  Band  with  "Dixie,"  which  was  welcomed  with  alter- 
nate cheers  and  yells  of  delight. 

The  Marine  Band  then  played  Orth's  "In  the  Clock  Store,"  at 
the  conclusion  of  which  there  was  a  mighty  shout  for  "Hanford! 
Hanford!"  As  the  actor,  Mr.  Charles  B.  Hanford,  appeared 
on  the  projecting  pier  to  the  south  of  the  main  steps  the  applause 
was  deafening.  Waving  his  hand  to  command  silence,  in  a  clear, 
deep  voice,  thrilling  with  emotion,  Mr.  Hanford  began  to  recite 
"The  Star-Spangled  Banner."  Never  had  he  recited  to  such  a 
vast  multitude,  and  never  had  he  voiced  or  acted  the  stirring  song 
so  well.  Cheers  answered  the  closing  lines  of  each  verse,  and  at 
the  close  of  the  poem,  as  he  raised  aloft  and  waved  to  and  fro  a 
silken  flag — the  Star-Spangled  Banner — the  cheering  became  a 
deafening  roar.  Then  the  leader  of  the  chorus  waved  his  baton 
and  the  entire  chorus  and  the  thousands  present  in  the  crowd 
joined  in  singing  the  national  air,  while  Mr.  Hanford  stood  far 
above  the  heads  of  the  mass,  waving  time  with  the  silken  flag. 
The  demonstration  of  popular  enthusiasm  was  mighty — "the  voice 
of  the  American  people." 

The  concert  closed  with  "A  Trip  to  Mars,"  one  of  Fanciulu's 
sprightly  and  entertaining  compositions,  which  the  Marine  Band 
rendered  with  fine  effect. 


The  Joint  Committee 


s9 


\ 


The  Joint  Committee 


In  pursuance  of  the  joint  resolution  of  Congress,  the  following 
Senators,  Representatives,  and  citizens  were  appointed  to  serve  on 
the  Joint  Committee,  namely: 

By  the  Senate: 


Daniel  W.  Voorhkes. 
John  Sherman. 
Matt  W.  Ransom. 


Stephen  M.  White. 
William  E.  Chandler. 
Watson  C.  Squire. 
John  Martin. 


By  the  House: 


William  D.  Bynum. 
John  C.  Black. 
David  B.  Henderson. 


John  De  Witt  Warner. 
George  W.  Hour. 
Charles  O'Neill. 
William  Cogswell. 


By  the  Citizens'  Committee: 

Lawrence  Gardner. 
Duncan  S.  Walker. 
E.  B.  Hay. 
M.  I.  WELLER. 

C.  C.  Glover. 

S.  W.  Woodward. 

John  W.  Ross. 


H.  L.  Biscoe. 
B.  H.  Warner. 
A.  R.  Spofford. 
J.  M.  Toner. 
John  Joy  Edson. 
Beriah  W  ilk  ins. 
Marshall  W.  Wines. 


The  committee  met  in  the  rooms  of  the  Senate  Committee  on 
Finance  at  10  a.  m.,  August  23,  1893,  and,  a  quorum  being  pres- 
ent, organized  with  Hon.  Daniel  WOLSEY  Voorhees,  United 
States  Senate,  as  Chairman,  and  General  Duncan  S.  Walker  as 
Secretary. 

After  the  reading  of  the  joint  resolution  creating  the  commit- 
tee, Chairman  Voorhees  called  upon  the  Chairman  of  the  Citi- 
zens' Committee  for  a  statement  of  what  had  been  done  by  the 
Citizens'  Committee  in  preparing  for  the  celebration,  and  what 
was  proposed  to  be  done  to  carry  into  effect  the  joint  resolution 


of  Congress. 


9* 


92 


Capital  (  entennial  (  elebratwn 


Chairman  Gardner  submitted  a  written  report,  as  follows: 


At  the  request  of  the  Citizens'  Committee,  the  following  report  has 
been  prepared  for  the  information  of  the  committee  appointed  from 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  explaining  the  origin  of  the 
movement,  what  has  been  done,  and  what  yet  remains  undone. 

Being  requested  by  numerous  citizens,  the  District  Commissioners 
issued  a  call  through  the  daily  papers,  and  a  meeting  was  held  accord- 
ingly at  Willard's  Hotel  on  June  7,  at  which  meeting  the  Hon.  John 
W.  Ross,  President  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  presided.  It  was  determined  then  to  have  an  appropri- 
ate celebration,  and  Chairman  Ross  was  delegated  by  the  meeting  to 
appoint  a  committee  of  fifty  to  conduct  the  affair.  Mr.  Ross  appointed 
a  committee  which  subsequently  met  at  Willard's  Hall  and  selected  its 
officers,  and  it  further  empowered  the  Chairman  to  appoint  such  com- 
mittees as  were  necessary  to  carry  the 
celebration  to  a  success.  The  committees 
were  all  appointed  and  their  duties  defined. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  state  the  details  worked 
out  by  each  committee.  The  result  of  the 
work  done  by  and  approved  by  the  Gen- 
eral Committee  is  as  follows: 

It  might  be  well  to  state  here  that  at 
the  time  the  Citizens'  Committee  was  ap- 
pointed, and  after  it  had  completed  the 
many  arrangements  for  a  great  part  of 
its  programme,  it  was  not  anticipated  that 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  would 
be  in  session,  and  authority  was  procured 
from  the  Honorable  the  President  of  the 
Senate  ( there  being  no  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives),  under  the  act 
of  Congress  approved  July  1,  1882,  for  the 
suspension  of  the  prohibition  of  the  use 
of  the  grounds,  etc.,  so  as  to  enable  the  celebration  to  be  conducted 
as  proposed.  As  soon  as  Congress  met  the  matter  was  brought  to  its 
attention  by  the  Citizens'  Committee,  and  the  Joint  Committee  was 
appointed  at  its  request. 

Under  these  circumstances  we  trust  that  it  may  not  be  regarded  as 
presumptuous  on  our  part  to  have  already  almost  completed  the  arrange- 
ments, and  that  what  has  been  done  will  meet  with  your  approval. 

A  Committee  on  Ceremonies  at  the  Capitol,  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  B.  H.  Warner,  have  in  part  completed  their  programme.  The 
portion  that  is  absolutely  concluded  is  as  follows: 

Prayer  by  Right  Rev.  Wileiam  Paret,  Bishop  of  Maryland;  intro- 


The  Joint  Committee 


93 


duction  of  the  President;  address  by  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
introducing  the  orator,  Mr.  William  Wirt  Henry,  of  Richmond,  Ya. ; 
and  the  following  portion  of  the  programme  is  respectfully  suggested 
for  action  and  approval:  An  address  on  behalf  of  the  United  States 
Senate,  by  its  President;  an  address  on  behalf  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, by  its  Speaker;  an  address  by  a  member  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  Chief  Justice  Fuller;  an  address  for  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, by  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  District. 

In  presenting  this  programme  the  committee  found  it  necessary  to 
arrange  for  music,  and  their  music  committee  has  undertaken  the  task 
of  securing  and  drilling  one  of  the  largest  choruses  ever  brought 
together  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  consisting  of 
fifteen  hundred  trained  adult  voices.  At  proper 
places  during  the  programme  the  chorus  will 
render  patriotic  music,  concluding  with  a 
grand  Te  Deum.     The   committee  has  i|  >p  ^ 

kindly  had  placed  at  its  disposal  a        J  |(|;  h 
fine  chime  of  thirteen  bells,  which      i  i 
will  be  rung  at  stated  intervals  ',(_-. 
during  the  day  and  in 
c  o n  j  u  n c  t i  on  with  the 
chorus.    The  committee 
has  also  secured  the  serv- 
ices of  the  United  States 
Marine  Baud,  which,  at  2S§|§;?1| 
the  cost  of  the  commit- 


tee, has  arranged  to  in- 
crease its  numbers.  In 
preparing  for  the  accom- 
modation of  this  large 
number  of  musicians  the 
committee  has  entered 
into   a   contract  for  the 


building  of  a  stand  at  the  side  of  the  center  steps  at  the  east  front  of 
the  Capitol  that  will  accommodate  twelve  to  thirteen  hundred.  They 
also  arranged  for  a  stand  directly  in  front  of  the  steps,  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  President,  speakers,  and  invited  guests,  perhaps  to  the 
number  of  about  two  hundred,  which  leaves  the  steps  back  of  that 
stand  yet  free,  to  be  used  for  other  invited  guests.  If  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  desire  to  be  present,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  erect  another  stand  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  center  steps  for 
their  accommodation.  To  decorate  the  stands  the  committee  would 
request  that  permission  be  secured  from  Congress  for  the  War  and 
Navy  Departments  to  loan  such  flags  and  decorations  as  they  may 
have. 


94 


Capitol  ( *entennial  ( 'elebration 


It  is  proposed  further  that  the  event  he  celebrated  by  a  parade,  to 
march  over  the  same  route  traveled  by  the  procession  in  1793.  From 
such  old  records  as  we  have  been  able  to  find,  we  learn  that  the  pro- 
cession assembled  at  the  President's  Square  and  marched  thence  to 
the  Capitol  grounds.  An  advertisement  was  published  in  the  daily 
papers  of  the  city  inviting  all  military  and  civic  organizations  and 
associations  in  the  District  of  Columbia  and  neighboring  cities  to  partici- 
pate in  the  parade  and  be  present  at  the  ceremonies.  An  additional 
written  invitation  was  sent  to  such  civic  and  military  organizations 
whose  addresses  we  could  secure.  In  nearly  all  instances  the  invita- 
tions have  been  responded  to,  expressing  a  desire  to  participate  in  the 
parade,  and  only  in  one  or  two  cases  have  we  received  declinations. 

General  Albert  Okdwav,  commanding  the  District  militia,  has 
been  selected  by  the  committee  as  Grand  Marshal.  He  is  now  hard  at 
work  with  the  Committee  on  Parade,  arranging  all  the  details. 

Specially  engraved  invitations  to  the  number  of  one  thousand  have 
been  prepared.  These  invitations  are  to  be  sent  to  such  prominent 
citizens  of  the  United  States  as  the  committee  may  desire  to  invite, 
and  also  to  the  Diplomatic  Corps.  The  design  for  the  invitation  is 
very  elaborate,  and  tells  the  story  of  the  building  of  the  Capitol,  begin- 
ning with  a  picture  of  President  Washington  laying  the  corner  stone 
September  18,  1793;  the  second  picture  representing  the  old  building 
completed,  and  the  third  representing  the  building  as  at  present,  1893. 
Inclosed  in  the  invitation  are  four  pages,  two  pages  to  be  devoted  to 
the  programme,  one  page  containing  the  names  of  the  Joint  Committee, 
and  the  fourth  page  other  committees. 

The  committee  have  also  published  a  small  pamphlet  giving  a  history 
of  the  Capitol  from  its  foundation  up  to  the  present  time;  it  also  con- 
tains a  list  of  the  committees  appointed  to  date.  We  have  only  issued 
one  thousand  copies  of  the  book,  and  the  other  two  thousand  are  ready 
to  be  issued  as  soon  as  the  programme  is  complete,  so  that  the  pamphlet 
will  then  contain  the  programme  and  any  new  committees,  and  such 
other  information  as  will  add  to  its  historic  value. 

It  is  customary  in  celebrations  of  this  kind  to  furnish  the  committee 
with  ribbon  badges,  but  the  General  Committee  decided  to  have  a  medal 
struck  commemorative  of  the  occasion,  designs  for  which  were  sub- 
mitted and  approved  by  the  General  Committee,  and  a  contract  for  five 
hundred  has  been  entered  into,  the  medals  to  be  paid  for  by  the  indi- 
vidual members  of  the  committee.  Facsimiles  of  the  designs  will  be 
found  on  the  front  and  back  pages  of  the  pamphlet. 

It  was  first  contemplated  by  the  General  Committee  to  have  an  even- 
ing entertainment  at  the  Capitol,  consisting  of  a  reception  in  the 
Rotunda;  but  Congress  being  in  session  it  was  deemed  advisable  to 
abandon  that  portion  of  the  programme. 


The  Joint  Committee 


95 


After  consultation  with  Architect  Ci.akk,  who,  I  may  say  here,  has 
been  of  great  service  to  this  committee,  his  suggestions  being  always 
well  timed,  it  was  proposed  to  have  an  illumination  of  the  Capitol 
building  with  electric  lights;  but,  after  correspondence,  our  committee 
found  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  go  into  a  matter  of  that  kind 
in  an  appropriate  way  with  the  funds  in  hand.  So  at  present  all  that 
is  contemplated  is  an  illumination  of  the  dome,  there  being  sufficient 
electric  power  at  the  Capitol  to  furnish  us  with  all  the  current  neces- 
sary. It  was  also  proposed  to  use  the  grand  festival  chorus  for  a 
concert  in  the  Capitol  grounds  on  the  evening  of  the  18th  of  Sep- 
tember, having  the  grounds  illuminated  by  gas  and  an  aerial  display 
of  fireworks,  the  firing  to  take  place  from  the  grounds  of  the  new 
Library  building;  but 
as  the  committee  has 
acted  from  the  be- 
ginning on  the  prin- 
ciple of  making  no 
contracts  except 
when  the  money  was 
in  hand,  these  matters 
are  held  in  abeyance. 
We  hope,  however, 
to  have  an  even- 
ing concert  and  an 
illumination  of  the 
grounds. 

The  additional  legislation  that  this  committee  will  require  will  be, 
first,  a  joint  resolution  granting  us  the  use  of  the  flags  and  decora- 
tions of  the  War  and  Navy  Departments;  second,  a  resolution  making 
the  18th  of  September,  1893,  a  holiday  for  the  District  of  Columbia. 

The  report  of  the  Chairman  of  the  Citizens1  Committee  was 
received  and  approved  and  the  execution  of  the  same  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  Citizens'  Committee. 

It  was  also  ordered  that  the  Congress  be  requested  to  make  the 
1 8th  day  of  September,  1893,  a  legal  holiday  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  and  also  authorize  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy  to  deliver  to  the  Architect  of  the  Capitol,  for 
decoration  purposes,  certain  ensigns,  flags,  and  signal  numbers. 

Chairman  Gardner,  of  the  Citizens'  Committee,  announced  that 
his  committee  had  raised  by  voluntary  subscriptions  the  funds 
necessary  for  defraying  all  the  expenses  of  the  celebration. 


96 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


The  Joint  Committee  met  in  the  rooms  of  the  Penance  Com- 
mittee of  the  Senate  September  n,  at  10  a.  m. ;  Senator  Daniel  W. 
Voorhrks,  Chairman,  and  General  Duncan  S.  Walkkr,  Secretary. 

Mr.  GARDNER,  Chairman  of  the  Citizens'  Committee,  made 
the  following  report  : 

Acting  under  the  instructions  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  Congress, 
a  special  stand  capable  of  accommodating  one  thousand,  with  the  neces- 
sary seats,  extending  from  the  central  steps  in  a  northern  direction,  has 
been  set  apart  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  House  and  Senate.  In 
this  connection  I  beg  to  suggest  that,  in  accordance  with  custom, 
the  stand  be  turned  over  when  completed  to  the  Sergeant-at-Arms 
of  the  Senate,  who  shall  have  charge  of  the  same  and  of  the  issuing 

of  tickets  thereto. 

Under  the  instruction 
of  the  Joint  Committee,  of 
the  one  thousand  souvenir 
invitations  printed,  nine 
hundred  and  four  have 
been  issued  to  the  per- 
sons designated  by  your 
Joint  Committee,  leaving 
ninety-six  only  at  the 
disposal  of  the  General 
Committee.  A  list  of  the 
distribution  is  herewith 
submitted. 

A  grand  stand  will  be 
erected  in  front  of  the 
central  portion  of  the  east 
front  to  accommodate  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  speakers 
participating  in  the  ceremonies,  the  Judiciary,  the  Diplomatic  Corps, 
and  other  guests  invited  under  direction  of  your  Joint  Committee. 

Another  stand,  extending  south  from  the  central  portion  of  the  build- 
ing, is  in  course  of  construction  to  accommodate  the  band  and  the  grand 
chorus  of  fifteen  hundred.  In  relation  to  the  approaches  to  the  build- 
ing on  the  1 8th  of  September,  some  arrangement  will  have  to  be  made  to 
keep  the  central  steps  clear,  and  I  suggest  that  that  be  left  as  a  matter 
of  accommodation  between  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  Senate  and  the 
Chairman  of  the  General  Committee. 

As  instructed,  letters  have  been  drawn  up  addressed  respectively  to 
the  President  of  the  Senate  and  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  inviting  their 
respective  bodies  to  be  present,  copies  of  which  are  submitted  herewith. 
I  also  beg  to  suggest  that,  as  is  usual  under  such  circumstances,  an 


The  Joint  Committee  97 

order  be  passed  by  each  House  arranging  for  their  participation  in  the 
ceremonies. 

On  the  suggestion  of  Chairman  Voorhees,  it  was  agreed  that 
motions  be  made  in  the  Senate  and  House  providing  that  their 
respective  bodies  take  a  recess  at  2  p.  m.  on  the  iSth  of  Septem- 
ber and  attend  the  celebration,  and  Mr.  Voorhees  requested  Sen- 
ator Sherman  to  make  the  motion  in  the  Senate  and  Mr.  Cogs- 
well to  make  the  motion  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 

At  the  suggestion  of  Senator  Voorhees,  all  details  relating  to 
the  handling  of  the  crowds  at  the  Capitol  on  the  day  of  the  cele- 
bration were  delegated  to  the  Sergeants-at-Arms  of  the  Senate 
and  House  and  the  Architect  of  the  Capitol. 

It  was  also  ordered  that  the  stands  for  the  Senate  and  House 
be  turned  over  to  the  Sergeants-at-Arms  of  the  respective  bodies. 
H.  Mis.  211  7 


Congressional  Action 


99 


Congressional  Action 


AUTHORIZING  THE  CELEBRATION 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  August  n,  1893,  the  following 
action  was  taken: 

Mr.  W.  D.  Bynum,  of  Indiana.  Mr.  Speaker,  the  gentleman  from 
Maryland  [Mr.  Rayxer]  yields  to  me  for  a  minute  to  ask  unani- 
mous consent  for  the  consideration  of  a  resolution.  I  will  ask  to 
have  it  read. 

The  Speaker.  The  gentleman  from  Indiana,  with  the  consent  of 
the  gentleman  from  Maryland,  desires  unanimous  consent  for  the 
consideration  of  a  joint  resolution  relating  to  the  exercises  commem- 
orative of  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone 
of  the  Capitol.  The  Clerk  will  read  the  joint  resolution,  after  which 
the  Chair  will  ask  if  there  be  objection. 

The  Clerk  read  the  joint  resolution. 

Mr.  Bynum.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  simply  desire  to  say  to  the  House  that 
this  resolution  entails  no  expense  on  the  part  of  the  Government. 
The  funds  have  been  raised  by  private  citizens,  and  they  simply  desire 
the  permission  and  cooperation  of  the  Government. 

The  Speaker.  Is  there  objection  to  the  present  consideration  of 
the  resolution?    [After  a  pause.]    The  Chair  hears  none. 

The  joint  resolution  was  ordered  to  be  engrossed  for  a  third  read- 
ing; and  being  engrossed,  it  was  accordingly  read  the  third  time,  and 
passed. 

In  the  Senate,  August  14,  1893,  the  subject  was  considered,  as 
follows: 

A  message  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  by  Mr.  T.  O.  Towles, 
its  Chief  Clerk,  announced  that  the  House  had  passed  a  joint  resolu- 
tion (  H.  Res.  2)  providing  for  the  appropriate  commemoration  of  the 
laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States,  Sep- 
tember 18,  1793,  in  which  it  requested  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate. 

Mr.  Yoorhees.  I  venture  to  ask  that  the  Senate  consider  the  joint 
resolution,  and  that  it  be  put  upon  its  passage  now.  For  that  purpose 
let  it  be  read.  I  will  merely  state  that  it  has  been  carefully  consid- 
ered and  unanimously  passed  by  the  other  House. 

101 


102 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


By  unanimous  consent,  the  joint  resolution  was  read  twice,  and 
considered  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

The  joint  resolution  was  reported  to  the  Senate  without  amendment, 
ordered  to  a  third  reading,  read  the  third  time,  and  passed. 

The  following  is  the  joint  resolution  as  passed  by  both  Houses, 
it  having  received  Executive  approval  August  17,  1893: 

Joint  resolution  providing  for  the  appropriate  commemoration  of  the  one  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States, 
September  18,  1793. 

Whereas  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  corner 
stone  of  the  United  States  Capitol  by  President  George  Washington, 
September  18,  1793,  is  an  occasion  of  national  interest  becoming  the 
cognizance  of  Congress;  and 

Whereas  a  committee  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  of  which 
Lawrence  Gardner,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  has  been  elected 
Chairman,  have  been  appointed  to  make  suitable  and  appropriate 
arrangements  to  duly  commemorate  the  important  event,  and  for  the 
maintenance  of  order  and  decorum  in  the  proceedings,  and  for  guarding 
the  Capitol  and  its  grounds  from  injury:  Therefore, 

Be  it  resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  use  of  the  Capitol 
Grounds  for  the  ceremonies  attending  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of 
the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol  for  and  during  the  18th 
of  September,  1893,  including  processions,  literary  and  musical  exer- 
cises, and  the  suitable  decoration  of  the  grounds,  the  Capitol  building 
and  its  approaches,  shall  be  permitted,  under  such  regulations  as  may 
be  prescribed  by  the  President  of  the  Senate  and  the  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  to  insure  the  safety  of  the  building  and  the 
grounds  from  injury. 

That  a  joint  committee  of  fourteen,  to  consist  of  seven  Senators,  to 
be  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  Senate,  and  seven  Representatives, 
to  be  appointed  by  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  be, 
and  is  hereby,  constituted  to  take  order  in  the  matter  of  arranging 
for  the  ceremonies  at  the  Capitol,  to  act  with  a  like  committee  in  num- 
ber to  be  selected  by  the  said  Citizens'  Committee. 

APPOINTMENT  OF  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE 

In  the  Senate,  August  24,  1893,  the  Joint  Committee  on  the 
part  of  the  Senate  was  appointed,  as  shown  by  the  following 
extract  from  the  proceedings: 

The  Vice-President.  Under  the  joint  resolution  providing  for  the 
appropriate  commemoration  of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 


Congressional  Action 


103 


laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States,  Sep- 
tember 18,  1793,  the  Chair  appoints  as  the  committee  on  the  part  of 
the  Senate  the  Senator  from  Indiana  (Mr.  VOORHEES),  the  Senator 
from  Ohio  (Mr.  Sherman),  the  Senator  from  North  Carolina  (Mr. 
Ransom),  the  Senator  from  New  Hampshire  (Mr.  Chandler),  the 
Senator  from  California  (Mr.  White),  the  Senator  from  Washington 
(Mr.  Squire),  and  the  Senator  from  Kansas  (Mr.  Martin). 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  August  25,  1893,  the  follow- 
ing action  was  taken: 

The  Speaker  laid  before  the  House  a  message  from  the  Senate 
announcing  the  appointment  by  the  Vice-President  of  a  committee  on 
the  part  of  the  Senate,  consisting  of  Senators  Voorhees,  Sherman, 
Ransom,  Chandler,  White  of  California,  Squire,  and  Martin,  un- 
der the  joint  resolution  providing  for  the  appropriate  commemoration 
of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of 
the  Capitol  of  the  United  States,  September  18,  1793;  which  was  laid 
on  the  table. 

The  Speaker  announced  the  appointment  of  a  like  committee  on 
the  part  of  the  House,  in  compliance  with  the  joint  resolution,  con- 
sisting of  Messrs.  Bvnum,  Warner,  Black  of  Illinois,  Houk  of  Ohio, 
Henderson  of  Iowa,  O'Neill  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Cogswell. 

MAKING  THE  DAY  A  HOLIDAY,  GRANTING  USE  OF 

FLAGS,  ETC. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  September  3,  1893,  further 
action  was  taken,  as  follows: 

Mr.  Bynum.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  ask  unanimous  consent  for  the  intro- 
duction of  a  couple  of  resolutions  and  their  present  consideration. 

The  Speaker  pro  tempore.  The  Clerk  will  report  the  resolution,  after 
which  the  Chair  will  ask  if  there  be  objection  to  its  consideration. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

A  joint  resolution  (H.  Res.  6)  to  make  the  18th  day  of  September,  1893,  a  holiday  within  the 

District  of  Columbia. 

Be  it  resolved,  etc.,  That  there  he  added  to  the  days  by  law  declared  to  be 
holidays  within  the  District  of  Columbia  the  18th  day  of  vSeptember,  1893,  the 
same  being  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of 
the  Capitol  of  the  United  States. 

The  Speaker  pro  tempore.  Is  there  objection  to  the  present  con- 
sideration of  the  resolution?    [After  a  pause.]    The  Chair  hears  none. 


io4 


(  apitol  Centennial  Celebration 


The  joint  resolution  was  ordered  to  be  engrossed  for  a  third  reading; 
and  being  engrossed,  it  was  accordingly  read  the  third  time,  and 
passed. 

Mr.  Bynum.  I  also  ask  for  the  consideration  of  the  other  resolution. 
The  SPEAKER  pro  tempore.  The  Clerk  will  report  the  resolution,  after 
which  the  Chair  will  ask  if  there  be  objection  to  its  consideration. 
The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

A  joint  resolution  (H.  Res.  7)  to  permit  the  use  of  certain  ensigns,  flags,  and  signal  numbers 
to  decorate  the  Capitol  and  its  approaches,  1S93. 

Be  it  resolved,  etc.,  That  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
be,  and  they  are  hereby,  authorized  to  deliver  to  the  Architect  of  the  Capitol, 
for  the  purpose  of  decorating  the  Capitol,  its  approaches,  and  grand  stands  to  be 
erected  in  the  Capitol  grounds  on  the  occasion  of  the  centennial  celebration  of 
the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol,  such  of  the  United  States  ensigns, 
flags  (except  battle  flags),  signal  numbers,  and  other  flags  as  may  be  spared,  the 
same  to  be  so  delivered  to  said  Architect  not  prior  to  the  10th  day  of  September, 
and  to  be  returned  by  him  by  the  30th  day  of  September,  1893. 

The  Speaker  pro  tempore.  Is  there  objection  to  the  present  con- 
sideration of  this  resolution  ?    [After  a  pause  ]    The  Chair  hears  none. 

The  joint  resolution  was  ordered  to  be  engrossed  for  a  third  reading; 
and  being  engrossed,  it  was  accordingly  read  the  third  time,  and  passed. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Bynum,  a  motion  to  reconsider  the  several  votes  by 
which  the  joint  resolutions  were  passed  was  laid  on  the  table. 

These  subjects  were  considered  in  the  Senate  September  4,  1893, 
as  follows: 

Mr.  Voorhees.  I  ask  that  the  joint  resolutions  which  have  just 
come  from  the  House  of  Representatives  be  laid  before  the  Senate 
and  put  on  their  passage.  I  will  state  that  the  first  is  a  joint  resolution 
passed  by  the  other  House,  making  the  18th  of  September  a  holiday 
in  the  District  of  Columbia.  It  is  the  centennial  of  the  laying  of  the 
corner  stone  of  the  Capitol.  The  other  joint  resolution  authorizes 
the  use  of  certain  flags  and  ensigns  by  the  Architect  of  the  Capitol 
on  that  day.  I  should  be  very  glad  to  have  the  Senate  concur  with 
the  action  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  let  the  matter  go 
along.  There  being  no  objection,  the  joint  resolution  (H.  Res.  6)  to 
make  the  18th  day  of  September,  1893,  a  holiday  within  the  District 
of  Columbia  was  read  twice  and  considered  as  in  Committee  of  the 
Whole. 

The  joint  resolution  was  reported  to  the  Senate  without  amendment, 
ordered  to  a  third  reading,  read  the  third  time,  and  passed. 

The  joint  resolution  (H.  Res.  7)  to  permit  the  use  of  certain  ensigns, 
flags,  and  signal  numbers  to  decorate  the  Capitol  and  its  approaches, 


C  ongressional .  4  ction 


September  18,  1893,  was  read  twice  and  considered  as  in  Committee 
of  the  Whole. 

The  joint  resolution  was  reported  to  the  Senate  without  amendment, 
ordered  to  a  third  reading,  read  the  third  time,  and  passed. 

RESOLUTIONS  TO  ATTEND 
In  the  Senate,  September  11,  1893: 

The  Yick- President  laid  before  che  Senate  the  following  letter; 
which  was  read: 

Washington,  D.  C,  September  //,  fSgj. 
Sir:  The  General  Committee  on  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Laying  of 
the  Corner  Stone  of  the  Capitol  has  set  apart,  under  the  direction  of  the  Joint 
Committee  appointed  under  the  joint  resolution  of  Congress  approved  August  17, 
1S93,  a  special  stand  with  one  thousand  seats  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  September  iS,  1S93. 

It  is  the  desire  of  the  committee  that,  following  the  established  precedent  of 
such  occasions,  the  Senate  attend  the  ceremonies  as  an  organized  body;  and  in 
behalf  of  the  committee  I  beg  to  request  you  to  extend  this  invitation  to  the 
United  States  Senate,  and  that  that  honorable  body  may  make  such  order  thereon 
as  may  be  most  appropriate. 

Very  respectfully,  L.  Gardner, 

Chairman  General  Committee. 

Hon.  Adeai  E.  Stevenson, 

Vice-President  United  States,  President  of  the  Senate. 

Mr.  Sherman,  from  the  Joint  Select  Committee  appointed  under  the 
joint  resolution  providing  for  the  appropriate  commemoration  of  the  one 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol 
of  the  United  States,  September  18,  1793,  reported  the  following  reso- 
lution; which  was  considered  by  unanimous  consent,  and  agreed  to: 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  will  attend  the  ceremonies  of  the  one  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol,  September  iS,  1S93, 
at  2  o'clock  p.  m. 

That  a  recess  be  taken  at  ten  minutes  before  2  o'clock  p.  m.  of  that  day,  and 
the  Senate,  accompanied  by  its  officers,  shall  proceed  to  the  place  assigned,  at  the 
east  front  of  the  Capitol. 

That  the  Sergeant-at-Anns  ot  the  Senate  is  directed  to  make  the  necessary 
arrangements  to  carry  out  this  order. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  September  12,  1893: 

The  Speaker.  The  Chair  lays  before  the  House  the  following  com- 
munication, which  the  Clerk  will  report: 

Washington,  D.  C,  September  //,  iSgj.  . 
SIR:  The  General  Committee  on  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Laying  of 
the  Corner  Stone  of  the  Capitol  has  set  apart,  under  the  direction  of  the  Joint 


io6 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


Committee  appointed  under  the  joint  resolution  of  Congress  approved  August  17, 
1893,  a  special  stand  with  one  thousand  seats  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  September  18,  1893. 

It  is  the  desire  of  the  committee  that,  following  the  established  precedent  of 
such  occasions,  the  House  of  Representatives  attend  the  ceremonies  as  an  organ- 
ized body;  and  in  behalf  of  the  committee  I  beg  to  request  you  to  extend  this 
imitation  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  that  that  honorable  body  may 
make  such  order  thereon  as  may  be  most  appropriate. 

Very  respectfully,  L.  Gardner, 

Chairman  General  Committee. 

Hon.  Charles  F.  Crisp, 

Speaker  House  of  Representatives,  United  States. 

Mr.  Cogswell.   I  offer  the  resolution  which  I  send  to  the  Clerk's 
desk,  and  ask  for  its  immediate  consideration. 
The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  House  will  attend  the  ceremonies  of  the  one  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol,  September  18,  1893, 
at  2  o'clock  p.  m. 

That  a  recess  be  taken  at  ten  minutes  before  2  o'clock  of  that  day,  and  the 
House,  accompanied  by  its  officers,  shall  proceed  to  the  place  assigned,  at  the  east 
front  of  the  Capitol.  That  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  House  is  directed  to  make 
the  necessary  arrangements  to  carry  out  this  order. 

The  Speaker.  Is  there  objection  to  the  immediate  consideration  of 
this  resolution? 

There  was  no  objection. 

The  resolution  was  agreed  to. 

ATTENDANCE  AT  THE  CELEBRATION 
In  the  Senate,  September  18,  1893: 

The  Vice-President.  The  Chair  will  state  to  the  Senator  from 
Oregon  that  the  Chair  is  compelled,  under  the  resolution  of  the  Senate, 
to  announce  that,  the  hour  of  ten  minutes  to  2  having  arrived,  it 
becomes  the  duty  of  the  Chair  to  lay  before  the  Senate  the  resolution 
adopted  by  the  Senate  on  the  nth  instant,  which  will  be  read. 

The  Secretary  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  will  attend  the  ceremonies  of  the  one  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol,  September  18,  1893, 
at  2  o'clock  p.  m. 

That  a  recess  be  taken  at  ten  minutes  before  2  o'clock  p.  m.  of  that  day,  and 
the  Senate,  accompanied  by  its  officers,  shall  proceed  to  the  place  assigned,  at  the 
east  front  of  the  Capitol. 

That  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  Senate  is  directed  to  make  the  necessary 
arrangements  to  carry  out  this  order. 

The  Vice-President.  The  Sergeant-at-Arms  will  execute  the  order 
of  the  Senate. 


Congressional  Act 'ion 


107 


The  Senate,  headed  by  the  Vice- President  and  the  Secretary,  and 
preceded  by  the  Serjeant-at-Arms,  thereupon  proceeded  to  the  east 
front  of  the  Capitol  to  participate  in  the  ceremonies  commemorative 
of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of 
the  Capitol  of  the  United  States. 

The  Senate  returned  to  its  Chamber  at  5  o'clock  and  13  minutes 
p.  m. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  September  18,  1893: 

The  Speaker.  The  Clerk  will  report  the  order  adopted  \>y  the 
House. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  House  will  attend  the  ceremonies  of  the  one  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  corner 
stone  of  the  Capitol,  September  iS,  1S93, 
at  2  o'clock  p.  m. 

That  a  recess  be  taken  at  ten  minutes 
before  2  o'clock  of  that  day,  and  the 
House,  accompanied  by  its  officers,  shall 
proceed  to  the  place  assigned,  at  the  east 
front  of  the  Capitol.  That  the  Sergeant- 
at-Arms  of  the  House  is  directed  to  make 
the  necessary  arrangements  to  carry  out 
this  order. 

The  Speaker.  The  Chair  would 
call  the  attention  of  the  House 
to  the  fact  that  there  is  no  provi- 
sion made  in  this  order  as  to  the 
duration  of  the  recess  or  the  ad- 
journment of  the  House.  There- 
fore, the  Chair  would  suggest  that 
some  motion  be  made  respecting 
the  return  to  the  Hall  and  the  ad- 
journment of  the  House  immediately 
thereafter. 

Mr.  Catchings.    I  move  that 
when  the  ceremonies  have  been  concluded  the  House  reassemble.  I 
think  that  motion  would  cover  the  idea. 

Mr.  Reed.  It  is  understood  that  there  is  to  be  an  adjournment  at 
once  on  return  of  the  House. 

Mr.  Livingston.  Why  not  adjourn  now? 

The  Speaker.  The  only  reason  why  the  House  can  not  now  ad- 
journ is  that  the  House  has  agreed  to  attend  this  ceremony  as  a 
body,  and  both  the  House  and  Senate  have  agreed  to  take  a  recess. 
However,  it  can  be  the  understanding,  and  without  objection  it  will 
be  the  understanding,  that  immediately  upon  the  conclusion  of  the 


io8 


( 'apitol  C  *entennial  C  'elebration 


ceremonies  the  House  will,  or  such  members  as  return,  reassemble, 
when  an  adjournment  will  be  had  until  to-morrow.    Without  objec- 
tion that  will  be  the  understanding  and  the  order. 
There  was  no  objection,  and  it  was  so  ordered. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  House  will,  in  accordance  with  the  order,  form 
in  line  and  proceed  to  the  place  of  the  ceremonies.  The  officers  will 
accompany  the  House,  and  the  pages  will  form  in  the  rear  of  the 
members. 

Accordingly  (at  i  o'clock  and  50  minutes),  the  House,  headed  by 
the  Speaker  and  accompanied  by  its  officers,  proceeded  to  the  platform 
prepared  for  their  accommodation  in  front  of  the  east  portico. 

The  House  reassembled  at  5  o'clock  and  10  minutes. 

THE  TABLET 
In  the  Senate,  April  23,  1894: 

The  Vice-President  laid  before  the  Senate  the  following  commu- 
nication; which  was  read: 

Washington,  D.  C,  April  21,  1894. 
Dear  Sir:  The  General  Committee  on  the  Centennial  of  the  Capitol  has  donated 
a  bronze  tablet,  estimated  to  cost  about  #900,  to  be  placed  upon  the  exterior  south- 
east wall  of  the  north  wing  of  the  original  Capitol  building,  to  commemorate  the 
laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol,  September  18,  1793,  by  President  George 
Washington. 

As  legislation  will  be  necessary  to  carry  out  the  purpose  of  the  General  Com- 
mittee, I  have  the  honor  to  request  that  the  subject  may  be  brought  to  the 
attention  of  Congress,  only  suggesting  that  the  matter  of  the  inscription  upon 
the  tablet  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  Joint  Committee  appointed  under  the 
joint  resolution  of  Congress  approved  August  17,  1893,  and  that  the  selection  of 
the  precise  locality  for  the  insertion  of  the  tablet,  as  well  as  the  work  connected 
with  such  insertion,  be  placed  under  the  direction  of  the  Architect  of  the  Capitol. 
Very  respectfully,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

L.  Gardner, 
Chairman  General  Committee. 

Hon.  Adlai  E.  Stevenson, 

President  United  States  Senate. 

Mr.  Voorhees.  In  this  connection  I  ask  unanimous  consent  to 
introduce  and  have  considered  a  joint  resolution. 

The  Vice-President.  The  joint  resolution  will  be  read  the  first 
time  by  its  title  and  the  second  time  at  length,  if  there  be  no 
objection. 

The  joint  resolution  fS.  R.  77)  providing  for  the  placing  of  a  tablet 
upon  the  Capitol  to  commemorate  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of 
the  building,  September  18,  1793,  was  read  the  first  time  by  its  title 
and  the  second  time  at  length,  as  follows: 

Whereas  the  General  Committee  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  of  which 
Lawrence  Gardner  is  Chairman,  have  donated  to  the  United  States  a  bronze 


Congressional  *  A  it  ion 


109 


tablet  to  be  placed  upon  the  Capitol  to  commemorate  the  laying  of  the  corner 
stone  of  the  building,  September  iS,  1793:  Therefore, 

lie  it  resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States 
of  America  in  Congress  assembled ',  That  the  United  States  accept  the  said  tablet, 
and  that  the  Architect  of  the  Capitol  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  and  directed 
to  cause  the  same,  when  approved  by  the  Joint  Committee  appointed  under  joint 
resolution  of  Congress  of  August  17,  1S93,  to  be  placed  in  or  upon  the  southeast 
wall  of  the  north  wing  of  the  original  Capitol  building,  upon  such  suitable  place 
as  he,  the  said  Architect,  may  select,  at  such  distance  above  the  corner  stone 
laid  by  Georgk  Washington,  September  18,  1793,  as  in  the  judgment  of  said 
Architect  may  be  best  suited  to  display  the  same  without  detracting  from  the 
architectural  effect  of  the  building. 

Mr.  Voorhkks.  It  may  not  be  improper  to  say  that  the  committee 
having  in  charge  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  laying  of  the  corner 
stone  of  the  Capitol  have  so  well  managed  their  affairs  as  to  have  a 
moderate  snrplus  fund  left  with  which  to  provide  this  bronze  tablet. 
The  tablet  is  to  be  placed  at  a  point  to  indicate  the  precise  spot  where 
the  original  corner  stone  was  laid.  That  locality  has  been  ascertained, 
and  this  is  a  movement  to  mark  the  spot  for  all  time  to  come.  I  think 
it  a  charming  and  a  most  excellent  thing  to  do,  and  the  committee  which 
have  had  charge  of  this  matter  are  deserving  of  great  credit.  They 
have  asked  nothing  of  Congress,  they  have  been  at  no  expense  to  the 
Government,  and  the}'  have  the  money  to  spare  to  make  this  provision. 
I  thought  it  best  to  explain  the  matter.  I  ask  for  the  present  con- 
sideration of  the  joint  resolution. 

Mr.  Gkav.  While  the  Senator  is  on  his  feet  in  regard  to  this  very 
appropriate  act  that  has  been  performed,  let  me  ask  him  whether  the 
inscription  on  the  tablet  is  to  contain  the  name  of  any  private  person 
or  of  the  donors  of  the  tablet? 

Mr.  Voorhees.   I  think  not. 

Mr.  Gray.   It  ought  not  to  do  so. 

Mr.  Voorhees.  I  think  it  does  not,  although  on  that  subject  I  am 
not  at  all  advised.  I  should  say  not,  very  decidedly.  However,  that 
can  be  easily  controlled  or  managed.  I  do  not  think  there  is  any  such 
purpose  at  all.  It  is  a  tablet  to  mark  the  precise  locality  of  the  original 
corner  stone  laid  by  George  Washington  September  18,  1793. 

Mr.  Gray.  The  good  taste  of  the  gentlemen  connected  with  this 
enterprise  would  suggest  that  no  such  thing  should  be  done;  but  I 
think  it  ought  to  be  assured. 

The  Vice-President.  Is  there  objection  to  the  present  consideration 
of  the  joint  resolution? 

There  being  no  objection,  the  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole, 
proceeded  to  consider  the  joint  resolution. 

The  joint  resolution  was  reported  to  the  Senate  without  amendment, 
ordered  to  be  engrossed  for  a  third  reading,  read  the  third  time,  and 
passed. 


T  IO 


Capital  Centennial  (  elebration 


In  the  House  of  Representatives,  April  24,  1894: 

The  Spkakkr  laid  before  the  House  the  Senate  resolution  (S.  R.  78) 
providing  for  the  placing  of  a  tablet  upon  the  Capitol  to  commemorate 
the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  building,  September  18,  1793. 

Mr.  Bynum.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  ask  unanimous  consent  for  the  present 
consideration  of  the  Senate  resolution. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  Indiana  asks  unanimous  con- 
sent for  the  present  consideration  of  the  Senate  joint  resolution,  winch 
is  before  the  House  for  reference.  The  Clerk  will  report  it,  after  which 
the  Chair  will  ask  if  there  be  objection. 

The  resolution  was  read. 

The  Speaker.  Is  there  objection  to  the  request  for  the  present 
consideration  of  the  resolution?  [After  a  pause.]  The  Chair  hears 
none. 

The  resolution  was  ordered  to  a  third  reading;  and  it  was  accord- 
ingly read  the  third  time,  and  passed. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Bynum,  a  motion  to  reconsider  the  vote  by  which 
the  joint  resolution  was  passed  was  laid  on  the  table. 

PRINTING  THE  PROCEEDINGS 
In  the  Senate,  October  31,  1893: 

Mr.  Voorhees,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library,  to  whom  the 
subject  was  referred,  reported  a  bill  (S.  1 137)  to  provide  for  the  print- 
ing of  the  report  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  Congress  and  proceedings 
at  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the 
Capitol;  which  was  read  twice  by  its  title,  and,  on  motion  of  Mr. 
Voorhees,  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Printing. 

In  the  Senate,  January  16,  1894: 

Mr.  Gorman,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported  a  joint 
resolution  (S.  R.  51)  to  provide  for  the  printing  of  the  report  of  the 
Joint  Committee  of  Congress  and  proceedings  at  the  centennial  cele- 
bration of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol;  and  sub- 
mitted a  report  thereon. 

The  joint  resolution  was  read  the  first  time  by  its  title. 

Mr.  Gorman.  I  ask  for  the  present  consideration  of  the  joint  reso- 
lution. 

By  unanimous  consent,  the  joint  resolution  was  read  the  second  time 
at  length,  and  considered  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  as  follows: 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America  in  Congress  asset/idled,  That  the  report  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  Con- 
gress appointed  under  the  joint  resolution  approved  August  17,  1893,  upon  the 


( 'ongresswnal  Action 


1 1 1 


ceremonials  at  the  celebration  of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  laying  of 
the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States,  together  with  the  proceed- 
ings and  public  addresses  on  the  commemoration  of  that  event,  be  printed  in  a 
memorial  volume,  with  such  illustrations  as  may  be  approved  by  the  Joint  Com- 
mittee on  Printing,  and  that  five  thousand  five  hundred  copies  be  printed,  fifteen 
hundred  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  three  thousand  for  the  use  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  one  thousand  copies  for  distribution  by  the  Citizens'  Com- 
mittee on  the  celebration;  and  the  sum  of  #5,000,  or  so  much  thereof  as  maybe 
necessary,  is  hereby  appropriated,  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  other- 
wise appropriated,  to  carry  this  joint  resolution  into  effect. 

The  joint  resolution  was  reported  to  the  Senate  without  amendment, 
ordered  to  be  engrossed  for  a  third  reading,  read  the  third  time,  and 
passed. 

The  following  is  the  report  (Senate  No.  160,  second  session 
Fifty-third  Congress)  made  by  Mr.  Gorman,  from  the  Commit- 
tee on  Printing: 

The  Committee  on  Printing,  to  whom  was  referred  the  bill  (S.  1 137) 
"to  provide  for  the  printing  of  the  report  of  the  Joint  Committee 
of  Congress  and  proceedings  at  the  centennial  celebration  of  the 
laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol,"  having  considered  the  same, 
report  it  back  with  the  recommendation  that  it  do  not  pass,  and  that 
in  lieu  thereof  the  following  substitute  joint  resolution  do  pass.  [Reso- 
lution as  passed  follows. — Ed.] 

The  provisions  of  the  bill  are  all  retained  in  the  substitute  joint 
resolution  with  the  exception  that  the  distribution  of  the  proposed 
memorial  volume  to  the  House  of  Representatives  is  reduced  from 
three  thousand  five  hundred  to  three  thousand.  This  reduction  was 
found  necessary  in  order  to  bring  the  cost  of  the  work  within  the 
amount  appropriated  therefor,  and  the  usual  proportion  of  distribution 
between  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  is  still  maintained. 

The  provisions  of  the  bill  having  relation  only  to  a  specific  occasion 
and  not  embracing  any  permanent  provision  of  law,  a  joint  resolution 
has  been  deemed  by  the  committee  the  more  appropriate  method  of 
proceeding. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  March  10,  1894: 

Mr.  Richardson,  of  Tennessee.  Mr.  Speaker.  I  present  a  privileged 
report  from  the  Committee  on  Printing. 
The  report  was  read,  as  follows: 

The  committee  have  considered  Senate  joint  resolution  No.  51,  providing  for 
the  printing  of  the  proceedings  at  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  laying  of  the 
corner  stone  of  the  Capitol,  and  direct  me  to  report  the  same  with  the  recom- 
mendation that  it  do  pass.    The  estimated  cost  of  the  same  is  about  #4,800. 


112 


Capital  C  entennial  C  clcbratian 


The  joint  resolution  was  ordered  to  a  third  reading,  and  it  was 
accordingly  read  the  third  time. 

The  question  being  taken,  on  a  division  the  joint  resolution  was 
passed — ayes  72,  noes  14. 


The  Capitol 


113 


3  3  3  3  3  3  3  3  £    gslslsf 5S  3 « 

I  ai'l'll  e  a  §  3  §  s     s  S'a'l  1  a/gi.2 
'llllttiljgftft!  I  sl|§ 

o    j  r.  z    o  C  o  'J  -  x  o  o  '-^  'J"- '-'  -  - 


o  'J  o  o  o  o 


w 

w  s 


i  |i      1 1 1 1|  =  =  5 1-2-5-2  ^  5  |.r  l  s  1  S-l  § 


u 


i  mm  i  m 


liilill.fjf-filii 


0  a  1 

2   a  a 


!  1 

IffS  s 
.1  If  I  SI  J  1  ? 

ii  ili  em.  i 


1  I 


5 5 8 ii:  o  u 3 S 5 - 8  S s 0 5  8 8 S 8 S  5 


Hi?! 


III 


.  .  .  :  :: 

H  — Ka«  s  s 


The  Capitol 


With  Some  Notice  of  Its  Architects 

[By  Edward  Clark.] 

The  original  portion  of  the  Capitol  is  constructed  of  sandstone 
from  quarries  at  Aqnia  Creek,  Virginia.  Its  dimensions  are  352 
feet  4  inches  by  229  feet  in  depth. 

The  extensions  were  begun  in  1851,  and  were  occupied  by 
Congress  in  1859.  The  material  used  is  white  marble  from  quar- 
ries at  Lee,  Massachusetts;  that  in  the  columns  from  quarries 
at  Cockeysville,  Maryland.  The  extensions  were  completed  in 
1861,  the  dome  in  1863,  and  the  terraces  in  1891.  The  entire 
frontage  of  the  building  is  751  feet  4  inches,  and  its  greatest 
depth  350  feet.    Total  cost,  including  terraces,  $14,455,000. 

The  duty  of  erecting  the  public  buildings  at  the  permanent 
seat  of  government  was  intrusted  by  Congress  to  President  Wash- 
ington and  three  Commissioners  to  be  selected  by  him.  In 
1792  designs  were  solicited  by  this  Commission  and  many  plans 
were  presented,  but  few  were  thought  worthy  of  consideration. 
An  award  was  made  to  Dr.  William  Thornton  and  to  Mr. 
Stephen  Hallette  for  designs  by  them  submitted,  and  although 
Dr.  Thornton's  plan  was  followed  to  some  extent,  he  not  being 
a  trained  architect,  the  work  of  constructing  the  building  was 
intrusted  to  Stephen  Hallette. 

Mr.  Hallette  came  to  the  United  States  from  France  just 
previous  to  the  Revolution,  and  established  himself  at  Philadel- 
phia. In  1792  he  became  Architect  of  the  Capitol,  continuing  as 
such  until  1794.  Upon  his  retirement  the  control  of  the  building 
passed  into  the  hands  of  James  Hoban,  who,  as  Surveyor  of  the 
Public  Works,  had  been  previously  connected  with  the  construction 
of  the  building. 

US 


n6 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


Horan  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  had  settled  in  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  just  after  the  Re  volutionary  war.  His  principal 
work  was  designing  and  constructing  the  President's  Mansion. 
His  connection  with  the  Capitol  continued  for  ten  years,  or  until 
1802,  during  which  period  George  Hatfield,  as  architect,  was 
also  engaged  upon  the  work,  from  1795  to  1798. 

Hatfield  was  an  Englishman  by  birth,  educated  as  an  archi- 
tect in  London.  He  designed  also  the  old  State,  War,  and  Navy 
Department  buildings  and  the  present  City  Hall. 

In  1803  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe  was  appointed  by  President 


central  building.  Upon  his  resignation,  in  181 7,  Charles  Bull- 
finch, of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  was  appointed  his  successor. 

Mr.  Bullfinch  constructed  the  Rotunda,  Library  rooms,  and 
central  porticoes.  His  connection  with  the  building  ceased  upon 
its  completion,  in  1830,  and  the  Capitol  was  then  placed  in  charge 
of  the  Commissioner  of  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds  until  185 1, 
when  the  plans  of  Thomas  U.  Walter  for  the  extension  were 
adopted  and  he  was  appointed  architect  to  construct  the  wings. 
The  work  was  commenced  by  laying  the  corner  stone  of  the 
south  wing  July  4,  185 1.    The  entire  work  was  prosecuted  with 


Mr.  Latrobe  was  born  and  edu- 
cated in  his  profession  in  England, 
coming  to  America  in  1796.  While 
living  in  Philadelphia  he  designed 
and  constructed  man}-  public  build- 
ings in  that  city.  It  is  to  his 
genius  we  owe  the  design  and  finish 
of  the  Senate  Chamber,  now  oc- 
"  cupied  by  the  Supreme  Court,  the 
old  Hall  of  Representatives,  and 
the  interior  of  the  wings  of  the 


Jefferson.  He  continued  in  the 
service  until  181 7,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  period  of  the  last  war 
with  Great  Britain.  He  restored 
the  portions  of  the  building  de- 
stroyed during  that  war. 


77ir  C  'apitol  1 1 7 

vigor.  The  Hall  of  Representatives,  south  wing,  was  occupied 
December  16,  1857,  and  the  Senate  Chamber,  in  the  north  wing, 
January  4,  1859. 

Mr.  Walter  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  and  had  designed  many 
of  the  principal  structures  in  that  city,  among  which  is  Girard 
College  for  Orphans.  He  resigned  his  charge  in  1865,  and  was 
succeeded  by  the  present  Architect,  Edward  Clark,  his  pupil, 
who  is  a  native  of  the  same  city. 

During  Mr.  Clark's  term  of  service  the  porticoes  of  the  wings 
were  finished,  the  marble  terraces  and  grand  stairways  constructed, 
and  the  Capitol  grounds  extended  and  remodeled,  the  latter 
under  plans  furnished  by  Frederick  Law  Olmsted,  landscape 
architect. 

Among  those  who  have  been  connected  with  the  construction 
of  the  wings  of  the  Capitol  and  the  new  dome,  the  important 
services  of  General  M.  C.  Meigs  should  be  noticed.  As  captain 
of  Engineers,  United  States  Army,  he  served  for  several  years  in 
charge  of  the  engineering  part  of  the  work,  and  much  is  due  to 
his  skill  in  the  construction  of  the  dome  and  in  planning  and 
arranging  the  heating  and  ventilating  apparatus  of  the  wings. 

[Added  by  the  Editor.] 

Mr.  Edward  Clark,  the  present  Architect  of  the  Capitol,  was 
appointed  in  1865,  and  is  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 
Both  his  father  and  brother  were  expert  draftsmen  and  builders, 
the  former  also  a  teacher  of  architecture  and  drawing.  Mr.  Clark 
had  an  early  apprenticeship  in  drafting  and  in  building  mechanics. 
He  entered  the  office  of  Mr.  Thomas  U.  Walter,  then  the  prin- 
cipal architect  in  Philadelphia,  and  soon  engaged  in  work  upon 
competitive  plans  for  the  extension  of  the  United  States  Capitol. 
Upon  the  acceptance  of  these  plans  and  the  appointment  of  Mr. 
Walter  as  Architect  of  the  Capitol,  Mr.  Clark  accompanied 
him  to  Washington  as  his  assistant.  In  the  summer  of  1851  he 
was  appointed  assistant  superintendent  of  work  upon  the  Patent 
Office  building,  under  Mr.  Walter,  and  later  served  in  the  same 
capacity  in  connection  with  the  construction  of  the  extension  of 
the  General  Post-Office  building,  under  M.  C.  Meigs,  captain 
United  States  Engineers. 


n8  Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 

During  this  service  Mr.  Ci.ark  was  called  upon  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior,  in  1859,  to  furnish  plans  for  buildings  in  the 
Territories.  In  the  Secretary's  letter  transmitting  these  plans  he 
was  pleased  to  speak  of  Howard  Ci.ark  at  that  early  day  as 
"an  experienced  architect."  In  1865  Mr.  Ci.ark  succeeded  Mr. 
WALTER,  by  appointment  from  the  President,  as  Architect  of 
the  United  vStates  Capitol. 

For  thirty  years  the  growth,  development,  and  care  of  the 
Capitol  and  its  surroundings  have  been  his  life.  He  has  grown 
familiar  with  its  every  part,  its  ventilation,  water,  sewerage,  light- 
ing, and  heating  apparatus,  and  its  avenues,  from  subbasement 
to  tholus. 

The  works  constructed  under  his  direction  will  stand  as  endur- 
ing monuments  to  his  ability  as  an  architect  and  superintendent, 
being  principally — in  recapitulation — the  completion  of  the  dome, 
the  many-columned  porticoes  and  exterior  finish  of  the  Capitol, 
the  construction  of  the  marble  terraces,  with  their  grand  stair- 
ways and  approaches,  the  porticoes  and  improvements  of  the 
Patent  Office  and  the  Post-Office  buildings,  and  many  other  public 
buildings. 


The  First  Corner  Stone 


119 


The  First  Corner  Stone 


Proceedings  of  September  18,  1793 

The  following  account  of  the  ceremonies  of  laying  the  corner 
stone  of  the  Capitol  is  copied  from  the  book  entitled  "The  Lodge 
of  Washington :  A  History  of  the  Alexandria  Washington  Lodge, 
No.  22,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Alexandria,  Va.,"  compiled  from 
the  original  records  of  the  Lodge,  by  Past  Master  F.  L.  Brockett, 
and  published  in  1876.  The  quotation  credited  to  ''the  news- 
papers of  that  day"  is  substantially  the  report  published  in  the 
Columbian  Mirror  and  Alexandria  Gazette  of  September  25,  1793. 
After  giving;  an  account  of  the  erection  of  the  southeast  corner 
stone  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  on  the  15th  of  April,  1791, 
the  history  above  named  says: 

The  next  important  event  of  this  kind  was  the  laying  of  the  corner 
stone  of  the  United  States  Capitol,  at  the  city  of  Washington,  on  the 
1 8th  day  of  September,  1793.  The  Masonic  ceremonies  were  conducted 
by  His  Excellency  General  Washington,  President  of  the  United 
States,  a  Past  Master  of  this  Lodge,  which  was  present  and  holding 
the  post  of  honor.  Dr.  Dick,  elected  Worshipful  Master  in  1789,  still 
in  office,  invited  Washington"  to  act  as  Master  on  this  occasion,  in 
accordance  with  his  own  wishes  and  those  of  the  public.  The  stone 
was  deposited  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  building,  instead  of  the 
northeast,  as  is  now  the  custom.  The  inscription  on  the  plate  stated 
that  Alexandria  Lodge,  No.  22,  of  Virginia,  was  present  and  partici- 
pated in  the  ceremonies.  The  apron  and  sash  worn  by  Washington 
on  this  occasion  were  the  handiwork  of  Mrs.  General  La  Fayette, 
and  are  now  the  property  of  this  Lodge. 

The  following  account  of  the  ceremonies  was  published  in  the 
newspapers  of  that  day: 

On  Wednesday  one  of  the  grandest  Masonic  processions  took  place, 
for  the  purpose  of  laying  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol  of  the  United 
States,  which  perhaps  was  ever  exhibited  on  the  like  important  occa- 
sion.   About  10  o'clock  Lodge  No.  9  was  visited  by  that  congregation 

121 


122 


Capitol  ( 'entennial  ( 'elebration 


so  graceful  to  the  craft,  Lodge  No.  22,  of  Virginia,  with  all  their 
officers  and  regalia;  and  directly  afterwards  appeared  on  the  southern 
bank  of  the  Grand  River  Potomack  one  of  the  finest  companies  of  vol- 
unteer artillery  that  has  been  lately  seen,  parading  to  receive  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  who  shortly  came  in  sight  with  his 
suite,  to  whom  the  artillery  paid  their  military  honors;  and  His  Excel- 
lency and  suite  crossed  the  Potomack,  and  was  received  in  Maryland 
by  the  officers  and  brethren  of  No.  22,  Virginia,  and  No.  9,  Maryland, 
whom  the  President  headed,  preceded  by  a  band  of  music,  the  rear 
brought  up  by  the  Alexandria  Volunteer  Artillery,  with  grand  solem- 
nity of  march,  proceeded  to  the  President's  Square,  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  where  they  were  met  and  saluted  by  No.  15,  of  the  city 
of  Washington,  in  all  their  elegant  badges  and  clothing,  headed  by 
Brother  Joseph  Clarke,  Right  Worshipful  Grand  Master  pro  tempore, 
and  conducted  to  a  large  lodge,  prepared  for  the  purpose  of  their  recep- 
tion. After  a  short  space  of  time,  by  the  vigilance  of  Brother  Clot- 
worThy  Stephenson,  Grand  Marshal  pro  tempore,  the  brotherhood 
and  other  bodies  were  disposed  in  a  second  order  of  procession,  which 
took  place  amid  a  brilliant  crowd  of  spectators  of  both  sexes,  according 
to  the  following  arrangement,  viz.: 

The  Surveying  Department  of  the  city  of  Washington 
Mayor  and  Corporation  of  Georgetown. 
Virginia  Artillery. 
Commissioners  of  the  city  of  Washington  and  their  attendants. 
Stonecutters,  mechanics. 
The  Sword-bearers. 
Masons  of  the  first  degree. 
Bible,  etc.,  on  grand  cushions. 
Deacons,  with  staffs  of  office. 
Masons  of  the  second  degree. 
Stewards,  with  wands. 
Masons  of  the  third  degree. 
Wardens,  with  truncheons. 
Secretaries,  with  tools  of  office. 
Past  Masters,  with  their  regalia. 
Treasurers,  with  their  jewels. 
Band  of  music. 
Lodge  No.  22,  of  Virginia,  disposed  in  their  own  order. 
Corn,  wine,  and  oil. 

Grand  Master  pro  tempore  Brother  George  Washington  and  Worshipful  Master 

of  No.  22,  of  Virginia. 
Grand  Sword-bearer. 

The  procession  marched  two  abreast  in  the  greatest  solemn  dignity, 
with  music  playing,  drums  beating,  colors  flying,  and  spectators  rejoic- 
ing, from  the  President's  Square  to  the  Capitol,  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, where  the  Grand  Master  ordered  a  halt  and  directed  each  file 
in  the  procession  to  incline  two  steps,  one  to  the  right  and  one  to  the 
left,  and  face  each  other,  which  formed  a  hollow  oblong  square,  through 


The  First  C  orner  Stone 


123 


which  the  Grand  Sword-bearer  led  the  van,  followed  by  the  Grand 
Master  pro  tempore  on  the  left,  the  President  of  the  United  States  in 
the  center,  and  the  Worshipful  Master  of  No.  22,  Virginia,  on  the 
right.  All  the  other  orders  that  composed  the  procession  advanced  in 
the  reverse  of  their  order  of  march  from  the  President's  Square  to  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  Capitol,  and  the  artillery  filed  off  to  a  destined 
ground  to  display  their  maneuvers  and  discharge  their  cannon.  The 
President  of  the  United  States,  the  Grand  Master  pro  tempore,  and 
the  Worshipful  Master  of  No.  22,  taking  their  stand  to  the  east  of  a 
large  stone,  and  all  the  craft,  forming  a  circle  westward,  stood  a  short 
time  in  solemn  order.  The  artillery  discharged  a  volley.  The  Grand 
Master  delivered  the  Commissioners  a  large  silver  plate  with  an  in- 
scription thereon,  which  the  Commis- 
sioners ordered  to  be  read,  and  was  as 
follows: 

This  southeast  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  was  laid  on  the  18th  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1793,  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  American 
Independence,  in  the  first  year  of  the  second 
term  of  the  Presidency  of  George  Washing- 
ton, whose  virtues  in  the  civil  administration 
of  his  country  have  been  as  conspicuous  and 
beneficial  as  his  military  valor  and  prudence 
have  been  useful  in  establishing  her  liberties, 
and  in  the  year  of  Masonry  5793,  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  in  concert  with  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland,  several  lodges  under 
its  jurisdiction,  and  Lodge  No.  22,  from  Alex- 
andria, Va. ;  Thomas  Johnson,  David  Steuart, 
and  Daniel  Carroll,  Commissioners;  Joseph 
Clark,  Right  Worshipful  Grand  Master  pro 
tempore;  James  Hoban  and  Stephen  Hal- 
EETTE,  architects;  Collin  Williamson,  master 
mason. 

The  artillery  discharged  a  volley.  The 
plate  was  then  delivered  to  the  President,  who,  attended  by  the 
Grand  Master  pro  tempore  and  three  Most  Worshipful  Masters, 
descended  to  the  cavazion  trench  and  deposited  the  plate  and  laid  it 
on  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
011  which  were  deposited  corn,  wine,  and  oil,  when  the  whole  congre- 
gation joined  in  reverential  prayer,  which  was  succeeded  by  Masonic 
chanting  honors  and  a  volley  from  the  artillery. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  and  his  attendant  brethren 
ascended  from  the  cavazion  to  the  east  of  the  corner  stone,  and  there 
the  Grand  Master  pro  tempore,  elevated  on  a  triple  rostrum,  deliv- 
ered an  oration  fitting  the  occasion,  which  was  received  with  brotherly 


124 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


love  and  commendation.  At  intervals  during  the  delivery  of  the  ora- 
tion several  volleys  were  discharged  by  the  artillery.  The  ceremony 
ended  in  prayer,  Masonic  chanting  honors,  and  a  fifteen  volley  from 
the  artillery. 

The  whole  company  retired  to  an  extensive  booth,  where  an  ox  of 
500  pounds'  weight  was  barbecued,  of  which  the  company  generally 
partook,  with  every  abundance  of  other  recreation.  The  festival  con- 
cluded with  fifteen  successive  volleys  from  the  artillery,  whose  military 
discipline  and  maneuvers  merit  every  commendation.  Before  dark  the 
whole  company  departed  with  joyful  hopes  of  the  production  of  their 
labor. 


Extension  Corner  Stone 


125 


Extension  Corner  Stone 


The  corner  scone  of  the  extension  of  the  Capitol  was  laid  by 
President  Millard  Fillmork  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  1851, 
Daniel  Wkbster,  Secretary  of  State,  delivering  the  oration. 
The  procession  marched  from  the  City  Hall  down  Louisiana 
avenue  to  Seventh  street,  thence  to  Pennsylvania  avenue,  thence 
to  the  north  gate  of  the  Capitol,  under  the  command  of  Rich- 
ard Wallach,  Esq.,  Marshal  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Following  is  the  official  programme  for  the  procession  and  the 
ceremonies  at  the  Capitol : 

THE  PROGRAMME 

The  Marshal  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  to  whom  has  been  assigned 
the  duty  of  making  the  necessary  arrangements  for  laying  the  corner 
stone  of  the  extension  of  the  Capitol,  announces  the  following  pro- 
gramme for  the  occasion: 

FIRST  DIVISION 

J.  P.  MiDDLETox,  Marshal. 
Marshal  of  the  District  of  Columbia  and  aids. 
Military  escort. 
Officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy. 
Military  officers  of  the  several  States  and  Territories. 
Officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Revolution. 
Officers  and  soldiers  of  the  war  of  1812. 

SECOND  DIVISION 

Dr.  William  B.  Magruder,  Marshal. 
Civic  procession. 

Persons  present  at  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol  in  1793. 
President  of  the  United  .States  and  orator  of  the  day. 
Heads  of  Departments. 
Cabinet  members  of  former  Administrations. 
Committees  of  Public  Buildings  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 
Architect  of  the  Capitol. 
Commissioner  of  Public  Buildings. 
Heads  of  Bureaus. 

127 


128 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 
Judges  of  the  United  States  Courts. 
Judges  of  State  Courts. 
Diplomatic  Corps. 
Chaplains  of  the  Thirty-first  Congress. 
The  reverend  clergy  of  the  District. 
Members  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 
Governors  of  States. 
Delegations  from  States  and  Territories. 

Washington  Monument  Society. 
Members  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Members  of  National  Institute. 
Ex-Mayors  of  the  city  of  Washington. 
The  corporate  authorities  of  Alexandria,  Georgetown,  and  Washington. 
Members  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati. 

THIRD  DIVISION 

G.  A.  Schwarzman,  Marshal. 
The  Masonic  fraternity. 

FOURTH  DIVISION 

Joseph  Libbey,  Marshal. 
The  several  temperance  orders  and  societies. 

FIFTH  DIVISION 

M.  Thompson,  Marshal. 
The  Washington  Benevolent  Society. 
The  German  Benevolent  Society. 
Literary  associations,  colleges,  and  schools  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Citizens  of  the  several  States. 
Citizens  of  Washington. 

The  military  will  assemble  on  Four-and-a-half  street,  their  right  resting  on  D 
street,  opposite  the  City  Hall. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  and  heads  of  Departments,  members  of  the 
judiciary,  members  of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress,  foreign  Ministers,  the  rev- 
erend clergy,  and  all  officers  in  uniform  and  on  foot  are  respectfully  invited  to 
assemble  at  the  City  Hall  at  10  o'clock  a.  m. 

The  corporate  authorities  of  Baltimore,  Alexandria,  and  Georgetown,  and  such 
other  corporations  as  may  think  proper  to  participate  in  the  ceremonies  of  the 
day,  will  assemble  at  the  City  Hall  at  10  o'clock. 

The  Masonic  fraternity  will  form  on  Fifth  street,  with  their  right  resting  on  D 
street. 

The  different  temperance  societies  will  take  position  on  E  street,  with  the  head 
of  the  column  resting  on  Fifth  street. 

The  Washington  Benevolent  Society,  the  German  Benevolent  Society,  the  lit- 
erary societies,  colleges,  and  schools  will  form  on  Sixth  street,  their  right  resting 
on  E  street. 

The  citizens  of  the  States  not  members  of  delegations  will  form  on  Louisiana 
avenue,  opposite  the  City  Hall. 

The  procession  will  move  from  the  City  Hall  at  n  o'clock  precisely,  and  all 
bodies  intending  to  join  in  the  procession  are  requested  to  be  at  their  respective 
positions  at  10  o'clock  a.  m. 


Extension  Corner  Stone 


ROUTE 

Down  Louisiana  avenue  to  Seventh  street;  down  Seventh  street  to  Pennsylva- 
nia avenue,  to  the  north  gate  of  the  Capitol. 

No  carriages  will  be  admitted  into  the  line  of  procession,  and  no  carriages  or 
horses  will  he  permitted  to  enter  any  of  the  streets  or  avenues  of  the  route  of 
procession  during  its  progress  from  the  place  of  assemblage  to  the  Capitol. 

The  Capitol  will  be  opened  for  the  accommodation  of  ladies. 

ORDER  OE  CEREMONIES  AT  THE  CAPITOL. 
J.  Madison  CuTTS,  Marshal. 

1.  Prayer  by  the  Chaplain  of  the  Senate. 

2.  Laying  of  the  corner  stone  by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

3.  Masonic  ceremonies  by  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master  and  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Free  Masons  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

4.  Address  to  the  Masonic  fraternity  by  the  Grand  Master. 

5.  Address  by  the  Secretary  of  State. 

6.  Benediction  by  the  Chaplain  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  Music. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremonies  at  the  Capitol,  a  national  salute  will  be 
fired  from  a  battery  at  the  Capitol,  under  command  of  Captain  BUCKINGHAM, 
and  at  the  Navy-Yard,  Arsenal,  and  National  Monument. 

In  the  evening  there  will  be  a  display  of  fireworks  under  the  direction  of 
Thomas  B.  Brown,  pyrotechnist,  011  the  Mall,  immediately  south  of  the  Presi- 
dent's House,  where  no  carriages  will  be  admitted  west  of  Fifteenth  street  or 
east  of  Seventeenth  street.    The  police  will  see  this  regulation  strictly  enforced. 

The  following  gentlemen  have  been  selected  as  aids  to  the  Marshal  of  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia  and  assistants  to  Marshals  of  Divisions: 

Aids — Gkorge  S.  Gidkon,  William  H.  Winter. 

Assistant  Marshals — First  Division:  Isaac  Hall,  J.  D.  Hoover,  V.  Marion 
Burche,  Dr.  H.  P.  Howard,  J.  T.  Mitchell,  J.  R.  Ashby,  Richard  II.  Laskky, 
P.  H.  Hooe,  E.  Little,  G.  W.  Verbv. 

Second  Division:  John  Potts,  Thomas  P.  Morgan,  Isaac  R.  Wilson,  Peter 
Wilson,  William  R.  Woodward. 

Third  Division:  George  McNeir,  H.  H.  Heath,  B.  O.  Payne,  R.  E.  Doyle, 
W.  O.  Niles,  John  Macauley. 

Fourth  Division:  Peter  M.  Pearson,  Leonidas  Knowi.es,  A.  T.  Harring- 
ton, John  D.  Clark,  R.  Gray  Campbell,  J.  R.  Harbaugh,  Joseph  Lyons, 
John  C.  Winn. 

Fifth  Division:  R.  A.  Morsell,  Robert  W.  KeyworTh. 

The  following-named  gentlemen  have  been  selected  from  States  and  Territories, 
and  will  report  to  James  M.  CuTTS  for  duty  as  Marshals  at  the  Capitol:  Samcel 
B.  Paris,  of  Maine;  George  J.  Abbott,  of  New  Hampshire;  J.  H.  Adams,  of 
Massachusetts;  William  Hunter,  of  Rhode  Island;  A.  R.  WadsworTh,  of  Con- 
necticut; Henry  E.  Robinson,  of  Vermont;  Archibald  Campbell,  of  New 
York;  A.  Van  Wick,  of  New  Jersey;  Robert  Morris,  of  Pennsylvania;  George 
P.  Fisher,  of  Delaware;  Abram  Barnhs,  of  Maryland;  Robert  Chew,  of  Vir- 
ginia; William  W.  Morrison,  of  North  Carolina;  Henry  J.  Kershaw,  of 
South  Carolina;  L.  McIntosh,  of  Georgia;  Charles  K.  Sherman,  of  Alabama; 
Lewis  L.  Taylor,  of  Mississippi;  Stephen  Duncan,  of  Louisiana;  George  W. 
Thompson,  of  Ohio;  Richard  Henry  Lee,  of  Kentucky;  Moreau  Brewer,  of 
H.  Mis.  211  9 


130 


Capital  Centennial  Celebration 


Tennessee;  Robkrt  G.  Hkdrick,  of  Indiana;  Nicholas  Vedder,  of  Illinois; 
Howard  M.  Clark,  of  Missouri;  E.  B.  CULVER,  of  Arkansas;  S.  YORKB  At  L.EE, 
of  Michigan;  Robkrt  A.  Lacky,  of  Florida;  JOSEPH  F.  LEWIS,  of  Texas;  Henry 
Clay  HENDERSON,  of  Iowa;  O.  Alexander,  of  Wisconsin;  G.  S.  Oldfield,  Jr., 
of  California;  A.  M.  MITCHELL,  of  Minnesota. 

Richard  Wallach, 
Marshal  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 


THE  PROCESSION 


The  following  account  of  the  procession  and  the  ceremonies  is 
condensed  from  the  National  Intelligencer  of  Monday,  July  7, 
1 85 1,  and  from  other  sources: 

The  national  anniversary,  which  was  celebrated  on  Friday  last,  was 
in  its  important  incidents,  the  fineness  of  the  weather,  and  its  freedom 
from  all  untoward  circumstances,  perhaps  the  most  inter- 
esting  and  agreeable   ever  enjoyed   in  this 
metropolis. 

The  day  was  ushered  in  by  salutes  of 
artillery  from  different  points  of  the 
city,  and  as  the  glorious  sun  gilded 
our  tallest  spires  and  shed  a  luster 
on  the  dome  of  the  Capitol  it  was 
welcomed  by  a  display  of  national 
flags  and  the  ringing  of  bells 
from  the  various  churches 
and   engine  houses.  The 
transaction  of  secular  busi- 
ness was  forgotten,  and  at 
an  early  hour  our  whole 
population  were  engaged 
in  preparations  for  a  joy- 
ous observance  of   a  day 
which  formed  so  important 
an  epoch  in  the  history  of 
our  country  and  the  world. 

In  the  large  Council 
Chamber  of  the  City  Hall 
were  assembled  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  members  of 
the  Cabinet,  officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy  in  full  uniform,  the  Mayor 
and  members  of  the  corporation,  and  various  civic  bodies. 

At  the  appointed  hour  the  various  bodies  were  drawn  into  line.  The 
First  Division  was  preceded  by  the  Marshal  of  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, Richard  Wallach,  Esq.,  and  his  aids.  The  military  escort 
consisted  of  the  Mechanical  Artillerists,  Captain  Duffy,  of  Alexandria; 


Extension  Corner  Stone  131 

Washington  Light  Infantry,  Captain  Tait;  National  Bines,  Captain 
Chesney,  from  Baltimore;  National  Grays.  Captain  Peter  Bacon; 
Walker  Sharpshooters,  Lieutenant  Birkhead,  and  Columbian  Rifle- 
men, Major  McAllister,  from  Baltimore.  The  visiting  companies 
from  Baltimore,  though  few  in  number,  attracted  considerable  atten- 
tion. The  battalion  was  under  command  of  General  Johx  Mason, 
aided  by  Majors  Keyworth  and  Riley  and  Captain  Tate,  of  the 
Infantry. 

The  array  of  officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy  was  one  of  the  most 
imposing  features  of  the  pageant,  including  among  them  thirty  or 
forty  brave  veterans,  many  of  whom  had  faithfully  spent  the  flower  of 
their  lives  in  the  service  of  their  country,  with  the  Commander  in 
Chief,  SCOTT,  at  the  head  of  the  Military  Division,  and  Commodore 
Morris  at  the  head  of  the  Naval,  all  in  full  uniform. 


In  about  thirty  minutes  the  procession  entered  the  north  gate  of 
the  Capitol  grounds,  and  were  drawn  up  in  order  around  the  excava- 
tion for  the  corner  stone. 


CEREMONIES  AT  THE  CAPITOL 

After  a  salutatory  by  the  Marine  Band  and  order  being  proclaimed, 
the  Rev.  M.  C.  Butler.  D.  D.,  Rector  of  Trinity  Church  and  Chap- 
lain of  the  Senate,  opened  the  ceremonies  with  the  invocation,  as 
follows: 

THE  INVOCATION 

Almighty  and  immortal  God,  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords,  onr  Creator, 
Redeemer,  and  bountiful  Benefactor,  we  bow  before  Thee  in  adoration,  thanksgiv- 
ing, praver,  and  praise.  Thou  hast  given  us  life;  Thou  hast  sent  Thy  son  Jesus 
Christ  to  save  us  from  sin  and  death;  Thou  hast  surrounded  us  with  the  means 


132 


Capital  Centennial  Celebration 


of  grace  and  set  before  us  the  hopes  of  glory.  Make  us,  we  beseech  Thee,  par- 
takers of  Thy  pardoning  love.  Give  us  grace  thankfully  to  accept  Thy  mercy 
and  earnestly  to  do  Thy  will. 

We  bless  Thee,  Heavenly  Father,  for  all  Thy  mercies  to  ns  as  a  nation.  Thou 
art  a  strong  tower  to  those  who  fear  Thy  name.  Our  fathers  trusted  in  Thee  and 
were  delivered.  They  have  deelared  unto  us  the  noble  works  which  Thou  didst 
in  their  days  and  in  the  old  time  before  them.  Thou  didst  plant  them  in  a  goodly 
heritage;  Thou  didst  unite  them  in  their  hour  of  peril;  Thou  didst  cover  their 
lu  ads  and  crown  them  with  victory  in  the  day  of  battle;  Thou  hast  carried  us, 
their  children,  forward  to  this  happy  day  in  fraternal  union,  and  prosperity,  and 
peace.  We  beseech  Thee  to  continue  these  Thy  blessings  to  us  and  to  the  gen- 
erations that  shall  come  after  us.  Let  Thy  blessings  rest  on  our  beloved  Chief 
Magistrate,  the  President  of  the  United  States;  give  to  our  lawgivers  wisdom  to 
devise  and  fidelity  to  execute  such  measures  as  shall  promote  the  public  virtue, 
harmony,  and  weal.  Bless  our  governors,  legislatures,  judges,  military  and  naval 
officers,  and  all  who  discharge  public  trusts.  Grant  that  all  estates  of  men  through- 
out our  land,  in  their  several  vocations  and  ministries,  may  do  Thv  will  and  win 
Thy  blessing,  that  peace  and  happiness,  truth  and  justice,  religion  and  piety  may 
be  established  among  us  for  all  generations. 

We  thank  Thee,  Heavenly  Father,  for  this  day,  for  the  mercies  which  it  brings. 
We  bless  Thee  that  Thoil  didst  prosper  the  purposes  and  answer  the  prayers  of 
our  fathers,  who  on  this  day  declared  themselves  and  their  country  free.  We 
thank  Thee  for  our  broad  land,  our  just  Constitution,  our  good  laws,  our  regulated 
freedom,  our  Union,  our  prosperity,  and  our  peace.  We  thank  Thee  that  we  are 
permitted  on  this  auspicious  day  to  lav  the  corner  stone  of  an  extended  Capitol  to 
meet  the  wants  of  an  enlarged  land.  Prosper  Thou  the  work  of  our  hands  upon 
us,  O  Lord  our  God!  Grant  that  as  we  lengthen  our  cords  we  may  strengthen 
our  stakes.  Let  our  liberty  ever  be  guided  by  law,  our  knowledge  by  religion,  our 
power  by  justice,  by  mercy,  and  by  peace.  May  we  never  use  our  freedom  as  a 
cloak  of  maliciousness  or  licentiousness,  but  remember  always  that  "where  the 
spirit  of  the  Lord  is  there  is  liberty."  Preserve  the  States  of  this  Confederacy  in 
perpetual  union.  Let  not  the  spirit  of  pride,  or  of  false  zeal,  or  of  wicked  mis- 
chief, unbind  or  break  the  bonds  which  make  them  one.  Let  the  corner  stone 
of  this  Capitol  and  the  corner  stone  of  the  Union  of  these  States  both  rest  stable 
and  strong  until  they  shall  be  shaken  and  broken  by  the  throes  of  the  resur- 
rection morn!  O  God,  our  God  and  our  fathers'  God,  we  entreat  Thee  by  Thy 
multiplied  mercies  to  us  in  the  past,  by  the  momentous  interests  of  the  present, 
by  all  our  fond  hopes  of  future  good  for  ourselves,  our  children,  our  country,  and 
the  world,  we  entreat  Thee  to  preserve  the  States  of  this  Union  forever  free  and 
forever  one!  Smile,  Heavenly  Father,  upon  the  exercises  of  this  day  in  this  place 
and  over  all  our  beloved  land.  Preserve  and  bless  those  who  are  engaged  in 
them.  May  hallowed  and  happy  influences  attend  the  celebration  of  this  anniver- 
sary more  and  more  from  age  to  age.  Graciously  accept  our  services  and  prayer, 
and  freely  pardon  all  our  personal  and  national  transgressions,  for  the  sake  of 
Jesus  Christ  our  Savior.  Amen. 

Thomas  U.  Walter,  architect  of  the  new  building-,  then  took  a 
survey  of  the  stone  and  deposited  therein  a  glass  jar,  hermetically 
sealed,  which  contained  a  variety  of  valuable  historical  parchments, 
coins  of  the  United  States,  a  special  paper  prepared  by  the  Secretary 
of  State  (particularly  described  by  Mr.  Webster  in  his  oration),  the 
newspapers  of  the  day,  a  copy  of  the  oration  to  be  delivered  by  the 
Secretary  of  State,  and  other  memorials. 


Extension  Corner  Stone 


133 


CORNKR  STONK  LAID 


The  corner  stone  of  the  extension  was  then,  with  great  dignity  and 
solemnity,  laid  by  Mii.i.ard  Fillmokk,  President  of  the  United  States, 
after  which  he  gave  place  to  the  Masonic  fraternity,  whose  special 
services  were  opened  with  prayer  by  their  Grand  Chaplain,  Rev. 
Charlks  A.  Davis.  The  "corn  of  nourishment,  the  wine  of  refresh- 
ment, and  the  oil  of  joy"  were  severally  deposited  according  to  the 
ritual  and  practice  of  the  fraternity.  The  Grand  Master  examined 
the  stone,  applied  the  square,  level,  and  plumb, 
and  pronounced  it  properly  formed  and  of  suit- 
able material  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
intended.  He  then  placed  upon  it  the 
corn,  wine,  and  oil,  saying  as  he  did  so: 

May  the  all-bountiful  Creator  bless 
the  people  of  this  nation,  grant  to  them 
all  the  necessaries,  conveniences,  and 
comforts  of  life;  assist  in  the  erection 
and  completion  of  this  edifice,  preserve 


Mi 


1  i !  ML 


mmwm 


:L\n  If 


the  workmen  from  any  accident,  and  bestow  upon  us  all  the  corn  of  nourish- 
ment, the  wine  of  refreshment,  and  the  oil  of  joy. 

Taking  in  hand  the  gavel,  the  Grand  Master,  continuing,  said: 

With  this  gavel,  which  was  used  by  the  immortal  Washington  at  the  laying 
of  the  corner  stone  of  that  Capitol,  and  clothed  with  the  same  apron  he  then  wore, 
I  now  pronounce  this  corner  stone  of  this  extension  of  that  Capitol  well  laid,  true, 
and  trusty. 

Accompanying  the  last  words  with  three  blows  of  the  gavel,  the 
Grand  Master  then  turned  to  Thomas  U.  Walter,  the  architect  of 
the  extension,  and  presenting  him  with  the  working  tools,  the  square, 
level,  and  plumb,  he  said: 

Mr.  Architect,  I  now  with  pleasure  present  to  you  these  working  tools  of  your 
own  profession,  the  square,  the  level,  and  the  plumb.  We,  as  speculative  Masons, 
use  them  symbolically;  you,  as  an  accomplished  architect,  well  know  their  use 
practically,  and  may  the  noble  edifice  here  to  be  erected  under  your  charge 


i34 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


arise  in  its  beautiful  proportions  to  completion  in  conformity  with  all  your 
wishes,  and  may  your  life  and  health  he  long  continued,  and  may  you  see  the 
work  go  on  and  the  capstone  laid  under  circumstances  as  auspicious  and  as 
happy  as  those  under  which  this  corner  stone  is  this  day  laid. 


ADDRESS  OF  B.  B.  FRENCH 

The  line  of  procession  and  the  multitude  of  people  now  changed 
position  nearer  to  the  front  of  the  stand,  the  President,  his  escort, 
the  marshals  of  the  day,  and  distinguished  guests  taking  their  seats 
upon  the  lofty  platform. 

Mr.  B.  B.  French,  Grand  Master  of  Masons,  then  came  to  the  front 
of  the  stand  and  spoke  as  follows: 

My  Masonic  Brethren:  I  rise  to  address  you  on  this  occasion  deeply  impressed 
with  the  circumstances  which  surround  me. 

Standing  as  I  do  in  the  presence  of  some  of  the  most  exalted  men  of  this 
nation,  and  to  be  followed  as  I  am  to  be  by  one  admitted  by  all  as  emphatic- 
ally the  orator  of  his  time,  and  of  whom  I  can  truly  say,  "  IJe  it  is,  who  coming 
after  me  is  preferred  before  me,  whose  shoe's  latchet  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose," 
you  will  believe  me  guilty  of  no  affectation  when  I  say  I  feel  a  diffidence  which  is 
to  me  unusual. 

Still,  as  your  Grand  Master  I  have  a  duty  to  perform,  and  I  shrink  from  no 
duty  under  any  circumstances.  As  has  been  the  custom  of  our  revered  order  on 
such  occasions,  I  shall  proceed  briefly  to  address  you. 

I  am  unable  to  conceive  of  a  more  interesting  occasion  than  this  upon  which 
we  are  here  assembled  on  this  anniversary  of  the  birthday  of  American  freedom. 

Here  we  are — the  proud  dome  of  our  own  Capitol  towering  above  us — assem- 
bled together  from  the  North  and  the  South,  from  the  East  and  the  West,  to 
perform  a  duty  indicative  in  itself  of  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  this  mighty 
nation. 

On  the  iSth  day  of  September,  1793,  was  laid,  by  George  Washington,  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  and  Grand  Master  of  Masons,  at  least  on  that  occasion, 
the  corner  stone  of  the  magnificent  edifice  before  us. 

It  was  doubtless  supposed  that,  when  completed  according  to  the  plan  then 
adopted,  it  would  be  of  ample  dimensions  to  accommodate  all  the  wants  of  the 
people  by  whom  it  was  to  be  erected  for  ages  then  to  come. 

Fifty-eight  years  have  elapsed,  and  in  that  comparatively  brief  space  in  the 
ages  of  Governments  we  are  called  upon  to  assemble  here  and  lay  the  corner 
stone  of  an  additional  edifice,  which  shall  hereafter  tower  up,  resting  firmly  on 
the  strong  foundation  this  day  planted,  adding  beauty  and  magnitude  to  the 
people's  house,  and  illustrating  to  the  world  the  firm  foundation  in  the  people's 
hearts  of  the  principles  of  freedom  and  the  rapid  growth  of  those  principles  on 
this  Western  Continent. 

Yes,  my  brethren,  standing  here  where  fifty-eight  years  ago  Washington 
stood,  clothed  in  the  same  Masonic  regalia  that  he  then  wore,  using  the  identical 
gavel  that  he  used,  we  have  assisted  in  laying  the  foundation  of  a  new  Capitol 
of  these  United  States  this  day,  as  Solomon  of  old  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
temple  of  the  living  God.  "Now,  therefore,"  says  the  historian  JoSEPHTJS,  "the 
king  laid  the  foundation  of  the  temple  very  deep  in  the  ground,  and  the  materials 
were  strong  stones,  and  such  as  would  resist  the  force  of  time;"  and  we,  fol- 


Extension  Corner  Stone 


135 


lowing  this  sublime  example,  have  laid  here,  deep  in  the  ground,  and  of  strong 
stones  that  we  trust  will  resist  the  force  of  time,  the  foundations  of  a  house 
wherein  we  hope  for  lengthened  years  the  representatives  of  a  mighty  poplee 
shall  legislate  for  the  glory,  the  happiness,  and  the  good  of  that  people. 

When  the  corner  stone  of  the  edifice  before  us  was  laid  in  1793  the  Government 
was  justly  considered  an  experiment,  and  the  prediction  was  again  and  again 
made  by  those  who,  thank  God,  turned  out  to  be  false  prophets,  that  it  would 
fail.  "The  wish  was"  doubtless  "father  to  the  thought."  But  it  did  not  fail! 
The  first  census  of  the  United  States,  in  1 791 ,  exhibited  a  population  of  less  than 
four  millions  of  souls;  at  the  time  of  the  laying  of  that  corner  stone  there  were 
probably  something  over  four  millions;  and  now,  in  less  than  sixty  years,  the 
number  has  increased  to  upward  of  twenty  millions  !  The  predictions  of  failure 
by  the  false  prophets  have  themselves  utterly  failed,  while  the  prayer  has  been 
answered  and  the  prophecy  fulfilled  which  Washington  made  on  assuming  the 
duties  of  President  on  the  30th  of  April,  17S9.  He  then  offered  up  his  "fervent 
supplications  to  that  Almighty  Being  who  rules  over  the  universe,  who  presides 
in  the  councils  of  nations,  and  whose  providential  aid  can  supply  every  human 
defect,  that  His  benediction  would  consecrate  to  the  liberties  and  happiness  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  a  government  instituted  by  themselves  for  these  essen- 
tial purposes;  and  would  enable  every  instrument  employed  in  its  administration 
to  execute  with  success  the  functions  allotted  to  his  charge." 

The  ear  of  the  Almighty  was  opened  to  that  prayer;  it  was  recorded  in  heaven; 
and  from  Washington  down  to  the  present  President  of  the  United  States,  who 
so  worthily  and  with  so  much  dignity  and  honor  fills  the  proud  station  that 
Washington  filled,  it  has  been  answered,  and  every  instrument  employed  in 
the  administration  of  this  Government  has  executed  with  success  the  functions 
allotted  to  his  charge. 

After  this  supplication  to  the  Most  High,  Washington  expressed  his  conviction 
that  "the  foundations  of  our  national  policy  will  be  laid  in  the  pure  and  immu- 
table principles  of  private  morality  and  the  preeminence  of  a  free  government  be 
exemplified  by  all  the  attributes  which  can  win  the  affections  of  its  citizens  and 
command  the  respect  of  the  world."  "I  dwell,"  said  he,  "on  this  prospect  with 
every  satisfaction  which  an  ardent  love  of  my  country  can  inspire,  since  there  is 
no  truth  more  thoroughly  established  than  that  there  exists  in  the  economy  and 
course  of  nature  an  indissoluble  union  between  virtue  and  happiness,  between 
duty  and  advantage,  between  the  genuine  maxims  of  an  honest  and  magnanimous 
policy  and  the  solid  rewards  of  public  prosperity  and  felicity;  since  we  ought  to 
be  no  less  persuaded  that  the  propitious  smiles  of  Heaven  can  never  be  expected 
on  a  nation  that  disregards  the  eternal  rules  of  order  and  right  which  Heaven 
itself  has  ordained;  and  since  the  preservation  of  the  sacred  fire  of  liberty  and 
the  destiny  of  the  republican  model  of  government  are  justly  considered  as 
deeply,  perhaps  as  finally,  staked  on  the  experiment  intrusted  to  the  hands  of  the 
American  people." 

This  prophecy  has  been  fulfilled.  The  foundations  of  our  national  policy  were 
laid  in  the  pure  and  immutable  principles  of  private  morality,  and  the  eternal 
rules  of  order  and  right  having  been  regarded,  the  propitious  smiles  of  Heaven 
have  beamed  upon  the  American  people,  to  whose  hands  the  "experiment"  was 
intrusted.  Prophecy  has  become  fact,  hope  has  become  fruition,  and  the  experi- 
ment on  which  the  destiny  of  our  republican  model  of  government  was  deeply 
and  finally  staked  has  been  entirely  successful. 

But,  my  brethren,  we  must  for  a  moment  reverse  this  bright  picture  of  the  past. 
As  in  the  fabled  mirror,  when,  under  the  power  of  the  magic  wand,  clouds  obscure 
the  view  for  a  time,  and  darkness  and  desolation  shut  from  the  beholder's  eye 


136  Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 

some  scene  of  happiness'  and  joy,  so,  within  a  short  time  past,  has  there  been 
hovering  over  the  brightness  of  our  political  horizon  the  dark  and  dismal  clouds  of 
disunion,  and  the  time  was,  and  that  recently,  "  when  the  boldest  held  his  breath  " 
in  anticipation  of  the  shock  which  was  expected  to  overwhelm  the  Republic. 

Thanks  to  Almighty  God,  the  good  old  Ship  of  State  weathered  the  dangers  that 
seemed  about  to  overwhelm  her,  and,  like  that  glorious  old  battle  ship,  the  Consti- 
tution,  she  has  escaped  the  imminent  dangers  of  a  "lee  shore,"  and  is  again,  we 
hope  and  trust,  in  smooth  water,  with  a  cloudless  horizon  all  around  her.  Heaven 
works  not  on  earth  without  human  means,  and  men  and  patriots  were  inspired  in 
our  day  of  danger  to  cast  themselves  resolutely  into  the  breach  and  strike  boldly 
for  the  Union.  The  names  of  Clay,  Webster,  Cass,  Footk,  Cobb,  Dickinson, 
Houston,  Douglas,  and  a  host  of  others,  shall  live  in  the  history  of  the  dark 
storm  •through  which  we  have  just  passed  as  the  saviors  of  this  glorious  galaxy 
of  American  States;  their  names  shall  stand  in  history  as  the  pillars  of  their  country 
in  the  hour  of  her  darkest  trial. 

I  know  I  shall  be  excused  for  saying  that  all  save  one  of  those  whose  names  I 

have  mentioned  are  "brethren  of 
the  mystic  tie."  He  to  whose  elo- 
quence you  are  about  to  listen  is, 
if  I  mistake  not,  the  exception. 

To  these  great,  good,  patriotic 
men,  aided  as  they  have  been  by 
the  Executive  of  the  nation,  in 
whose  every  act  a  determination 
not  to  be  misunderstood  has  been 
manifested  to  preserve  the  Union, 
do  we,  as  I  firmly  believe,  under 
God,  owe  the  existence  this  day  of 
these  United  States  of  America. 
Thanksbe  to  God;  thanksto  them! 

And  now,  my  brethren,  do  we 
see  nothing  here  in  these  cere- 
monies on  this  occasion  to  cheer 
us?  Cold  indeed  must  be  our 
hearts  if  they  can  beat  on  in  their 
regular  pulsations,  while  our  eyes 
behold  nothing  but  a  plain  rock 
of  granite,  hewed  and  squared,  and 
our  ears  hear  nothing  further  than 
"it  is  a  corner  stone." 

I  see  in  these  ceremonies,  as  it 
were,  the  spirit  of  Washington  among  us,  renewing  the  hopes  and  wishes  and 
prayers  that  he  never  failed  to  offer  in  his  lifetime  for  the  perpetuation  of  this 
Union.  In  that  corner  stone  I  perceive  the  seal  set  to  a  renewed  lease  of  the  ex- 
istence of  this  Union.  Lease,  did  I  say?  No;  a  deed  of  warrant  in  fee  simple, 
to  have  and  to  hold  to  us  and  our  heirs  and  representatives  FOREVER. 

In  the  erection  of  this  new  Capitol,  adjoining  the  old  one,  I  see  Texas  and 
California  and  New  Mexico  come  in  and  unite  themselves  to  our  old  Union  and 
become  one  and  the  same  with  it;  and  in  leaving  this  old  Capitol  untouched  I 
see  the  old  Union,  South  Carolina  and  all,  standing  firmly,  proudly,  in  its  glorious 
strength,  unbroken  and  unbreakable;  and  let  us  firmly  hope  and  pray  so  may  it 
stand  FOREVER  AND  FOREVER. 


Extension  Corner  Stone 


137 


DANIEL  WEBSTER'S  ORATION 

DANIEL  WEBSTER,  Secretary  of  State  and  orator  of  the  day,  then 
rose  from  a  chair  next  to  President  Fillmore  and  came  to  the  front 
of  the  stand.  He  was  welcomed  by  the  hearty  cheers  of  the  multitude 
and  proceeded  to  read  the  address  which  he  had  prepared,  a  copy  of 
which  had  been  deposited  in  the  corner  stone.  He  did  not,  however, 
confine  himself  to  the  manuscript,  but  occasionally  extemporized  new 
thoughts  and  highly  interesting  reflections,  which,  together  with  the 
reading,  occupied  him  nearly  two  hours. 

Mr.  Webster  spoke  as  follows: 

Fellow-Citizkxs:  I  congratulate  you,  I  give  you  joy,  on  the  return  of  this 
anniversary;  and  I  felicitate  you  also  on  the  more  particular  purpose  of  which 
this  ever-memorable  day  has  been  chosen  to  witness  the  fulfillment.  Hail!  All 
hail!  I  see  before  and  around  me  a  mass  of  faces  glowing  with  cheerfulness  and 
patriotic  pride.  I  see  thousands  of  eyes,  turned  toward  other  eyes,  all  sparkling 
with  gratification  and  delight.  This  is  the  Xew  World!  This  is  America!  And 
this  is  Washington,  the  capital  of  the  United  States!  And  where  else,  among 
the  nations,  can  the  seat  of  government  be  surrounded,  on  any  day  of  any  year, 
by  those  who  have  more  reason  to  rejoice  in  the  blessings  which  they  possess? 
Nowhere,  fellow-citizens;  assuredly,  nowhere.  Let  us,  then,  meet  this  rising  sun 
with  joy  and  thanksgiving. 

This  is  that  day  of  the  year  which  announced  to  mankind  the  great  fact  of 
American  Independence.  This  fresh  and  brilliant  morning  blesses  our  vision  with 
another  beholding  of  the  birthday  of  our  nation;  and  we  see  that  nation,  of  recent 
origin,  now  among  the  most  considerable  and  powerful,  and  spreading  over  the 
continent  from  sea  to  sea. 

Among  the  first  colonists  from  Europe  to  this  part  of  America  there  were  some, 
doubtless,  who  contemplated  the  distant  consequences  of  their  undertaking  and 
who  saw  a  great  futurity;  but  in  general  their  hopes  were  limited  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  safe  asylum  from  tyranny,  religious  and  civil,  and  to  respectable  sub- 
sistence by  industry  and  toil.  A  thick  veil  hid  our  times  from  their  view.  Rut 
the  progress  of  America,  however  slow,  could  not  but  at  length  awaken  genius 
and  attract  the  attention  of  mankind. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  next  century.  Bishop  Rkrkklf.y,  who,  it  will  be 
remembered,  had  resided  for  some  time  in  Newport,  in  Rhode  Island,  wrote  his 
well-known  "  Verses  on  the  Prospect  of  Planting  Arts  and  LEARNING  in  AMER- 
ICA." The  last  stanza  of  this  little  poem  seems  to  have  been  produced  by  a 
high  poetical  inspiration: 

Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way  : 

The  first  four  acts  already  past, 
A  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day; 

Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last. 

This  extraordinary  prophecy  may  be  considered  only  as  the  result  of  long 
foresight  and  uncommon  sagacity;  of  a  foresight  and  sagacity  stimulated,  never- 
theless, by  excited  feeling  and  high  enthusiasm.  So  clear  a  vision  of  what 
America  would  become  was  not  founded  on  square  miles,  or  on  existing  numbers, 
or  on  any  vulgar  laws  of  statistics.  It  was  an  intuitive  glance  into  futurity;  it 
was  a  grand  conception,  strong,  ardent,  glowing,  embracing  all  time  since  the 
creation  of  the  world  and  all  regions  of  which  that  world  is  composed,  and 


138 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


judging  the  future  by  just  analogy  with  the  past.  And  the  inimitable  imagery 
and  beauty  with  which  the  thought  is  expressed,  joined  to  the  conception  itself, 
render  it  one  of  the  most  striking  passages  in  our  language. 

On  the  day  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  our  illustrious  fathers  performed 
the  first  act  of  this  drama,  an  act  in  real  importance  infinitely  exceeding  that 
for  which  the  great  English  poet  invoked 

A  muse  of  fire.  *  *  * 
A  kingdom  for  a  stage,  princes  to  act, 
And  monarchs  to  behold  the  swelling  scene ! 

The  muse  inspiring  our  fathers  was  the  Genius  of  Liberty,  all  on  fire  with  a 
sense  of  oppression  and  a  resolution  to  throw  it  off  ;  the  whole  world  was  the 
stage,  and  higher  characters  than  princes  trod  it;  and  instead  of  monarchs, 
countries  and  nations  and  the  age  beheld  the  swelling  scene.  How  well  the 
characters  were  cast,  and  how  well  each  acted  his  part,  and  what  emotions  the 
whole  performance  excited,  let  history  now  and  hereafter  tell. 

At  a  subsequent  period,  but  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  Bishop 
of  St.  Asaph  published  a  discourse  in  which  the  following  remarkable  passages 
are  found: 

It  is  difficult  for  man  to  look  into  the  destiny  of  future  ages.  The  designs  of  Providence  are 
too  vast  and  complicated  and  our  own  powers  are  too  narrow  to  admit  of  much  satisfaction  to 
our  curiosity.  But  when  we  see  many  great  and  powerful  causes  constantly  at  work,  we  can 
not  doubt  of  their  producing  proportionable  effects. 

The  Colonies  of  North  America  have  not  only  taken  root  and  acquired  strength,  but  seem  has- 
tening with  an  accelerated  progress  to  such  a  powerful  state  as  may  introduce  a  new  and  important 
change  in  human  affairs. 

Descended  from  ancestors  of  the  most  improved  and  enlightened  part  of  the  Old  World,  they 
receive,  as  it  were  by  inheritance,  all  the  improvements  and  discoveries  of  their  mother  country: 
and  it  happens,  fortunately  for  them,  to  commence  their  flourishing  state  at  a  time  when  the 
human  understanding  has  attained  to  the  free  use  of  its  powers  and  learned  to  act  with  vigor 
and  certainty.  They  may  avail  themselves  not  only  of  the  experience  and  industry  but  even  of 
the  errors  and  mistakes  of  our  former  days.  I,et  it  be  considered  for  how  many  ages  a  great 
part  of  the  world  appears  not  to  have  thought  at  all;  how  many  more  they  have  been  busied  in 
forming  systems  and  conjectures,  while  reason  has  been  lost  in  a  labyrinth  ot  words,  and  they 
never  seem  to  have  suspected  on  what  frivolous  matters  their  minds  were  employed. 

And  let  it  be  well  understood  what  rapid  improvements,  what  important  discoveries  have  been 
made  in  a  few  years  by  a  few  countries,  with  our  own  at  their  head,  which  have  at  last  discov- 
ered the  right  method  of  using  their  faculties. 

May  we  not  reasonably  expect  that  a  number  of  provinces,  possessed  of  those  ads-antages,  and 
quickened  by  mutual  emulation,  with  only  the  common  progress  of  the  human  mind,  should  very 
considerably  enlarge  the  boundaries  of  science? 

The  vast  continent  itself,  over  which  they  are  gradually  spreading,  may  be  considered  as  a 
treasure,  yet  untouched,  of  natural  productions  that  shall  hereafter  afford  ample  matter  for 
commerce  and  contemplation.  And  if  we  reflect  what  a  stock  of  knowledge  may  be  accumulated 
by  the  constant  progress  of  industry  and  observation,  fed  with  fresh  supplies  from  the  stores 
of  nature,  assisted  sometimes  by  those  happy  strokes  of  chance  which  mock  all  the  powers  of 
invention,  and  sometimes  by  those  superior  characters  which  arise  occasionally  to  instruct  and 
enlighten  the  world,  it  is  difficult  even  to  imagine  to  what  height  of  improvement  their  discoveries 
may  extend. 

And  perhaps  they  may  make  as  considerable  advances  in  the  arts  of  civil  government  and  the 
condui  t  oj life.  We  have  reason  to  lie  proud,  and  even  jealous,  of  our  excellent  corstitution;  but 
those  equitable  principles  upon  which  it  was  formed,  an  equal  representation  (the  best  discovery 
of  political  wisdom),  and  a  just  and  commodious  distribution  of  power,  which  with  us  were  the 
price  of  civil  wars  and  the  rewards  of  the  virtues  and  sufferings  of  our  ancestors,  descend  to  them 
as  a  natural  inheritance,  without  toil  or  pain 

/hit  must  they  rest  here,  as  in  the  utmost  effort  of  human  genius?  Can  chance  and  time,  the  wisdom 
and  the  experience  of  public  men,  suggest  no  new  remedy  against  the  evils  which  vices  and  ambition 
are  perpetually  apt  to  cause'1  May  they  not  hope,  without  presumption,  to  preserve  a  greater 
zeal  for  piety  and  public  devotion  than  we  have  done?  For  surely  it  can  hardly  happen  to 
them,  as  it  has  to  us,  that  when  religion  is  best  understood  and  rendered  most  pure  and  rea- 
sonable, then  should  be  the  precise  time  when  many  cease  to  believe  and  practice  it,  and  all  in 
general  become  most  indifferent  to  it. 


Extension  Corner  Stone 


139 


May  they  not  possibly  he  more  successful  than  their  mother  country  in  preserving  that  rev- 
erence and  authority  which  is  due  to  the  laws?  to  those  who  make  and  to  those  who  execute 
them?  Mav  not  a  method  be  invented  of  procuring  some  tolerable  share  of  the  comforts  of  life  to 
those  inferior  useful  ranks  of  men  to  whose  industry  we  are  indebted  for  the  whole/  Time  and 
discipline  ma  y  discover  some  means  to  correct  the  extreme  inequalities  of  condition  between  the  rich 
and  the  poor,  so  dangerous  to  the  innocence  and  happiness  of  both.  They  may  be  fortunately  led 
by  habit  and  choice  to  despise  that  luxury  which  is  considered  with  us  the  true  enjoyment  of 
wealth.  They  may  have  little  relish  for  that  ceaseless  hurry  of  amusements  which  is  pursued 
in  this  country  without  pleasure,  exercise,  or  enjoyment.  And  perhaps,  after  trying  some  of 
our  follies  and  caprices  and  rejecting  the  rest,  they  may  be  led  by  reason  and  experiment  to 
that  old  simplicity  which  was  first  pointed  out  by  Nature,  and  has  produced  those  models  which 
we  still  admire  in  arts,  eloquence,  and  manners.  The  diversity  of  new  scenes  and  situations 
which  so  many  growing  States  must  necessarily  pass  through  may  introduce  changes  in  the  fluctu- 
ating opinions  and  manners  of  men  which  we  can  form  no  conception  of;  and  not  only  the  gracious 
disposition  of  Providence,  but  the  visible  preparation  of  causes,  seems  to  indicate  strong  ten- 
dencies toward  a  general  improvement. 

Fellow-citizens,  this  gracious  dispensation  of  Providence  and  this  visible  prepa- 
ration of  causes  at  length  brought  on  the  hour  for  decisive  action.  On  the  4th 
of  July,  1776,  the  representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress 
assembled  declared  that  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be, 
Free  and  Independent  States. 

This  declaration,  made  by  most  patriotic  and  resolute  men,  trusting  in  the 
justice  of  their  cause  and  the  protection  of  Heaven,  and  yet  made  not  without 
deep  solicitude  and  anxiety,  has  now  stood  for  seventy-five  years  and  still  stands. 
It  was  sealed  in  blood.  It  has  met  dangers  and  overcame  them;  it  has  had 
enemies  and  it  has  conquered  them;  it  has  had  detractors  and  it  has  abashed 
them  all;  it  has  had  doubting  friends,  but  it  has  cleared  all  doubts  away;  and 
now,  to-day,  raising  its  august  form  higher  than  the  clouds,  twenty  millions  of 
people  contemplate  it  with  hallowed  love,  and  the  world  beholds  it  and  the  con- 
sequences which  have  followed  from  it  with  profound  admiration. 

This  anniversary  animates  and  gladdens  and  unites  all  American  hearts.  On 
other  days  of  the  year  we  may  be  party  men,  indulging  in  controversies  more  or 
less  important  to  the  public  good;  we  may  have  likes  and  dislikes  and  we  may 
maintain  our  political  differences,  often  with  warm  and  sometimes  with  angry 
feelings.  But  to-day  we  are  Americans  all;  and  all  nothing  but  Americans.  As 
the  great  luminary  over  our  heads,  dissipating  mists  and  fogs,  now  cheers  the 
whole  hemisphere,  so  do  the  associations  connected  with  this  day  disperse  all  cloudy 
and  sullen  weather,  and  all  noxious  exhalations  in  the  minds  and  feelings  of  true 
Americans.  Every  man's  heart  swells  within  him;  every  man's  port  and  bearing 
become  somewhat  more  proud  and  loft}-  as  he  remembers  that  seventy-five  years 
have  rolled  away  and  that  the  great  inheritance  of  liberty  is  still  his;  his,  undi- 
minished and  unimpaired;  his  in  all  its  original  glory;  his  to  enjoy;  his  to  protect; 
and  his  to  transmit  to  future  generations. 

Fellow-citizens,  this  inheritance  which  we  enjoy  to-day  is  not  only  an  inheritance 
of  liberty,  but  of  our  own  peculiar  American  liberty.  Liberty  has  existed  in  other 
times,  in  other  countries,  and  in  other  forms.  There  has  been  a  Grecian  liberty, 
bold  and  powerful,  full  of  spirit,  eloquence,  and  fire,  a  liberty  which  produced 
multitudes  of  great  men  and  has  transmitted  one  immortal  name,  the  name  of 
Demosthenes,  to  posterity.  But  still  it  was  a  liberty  of  disconnected  states,  some- 
times united,  indeed,  by  temporary  leagues  and  confederacies,  but  often  involved 
in  wars  between  themselves.  The  sword  of  Sparta  turned  its  sharpest  edge  against 
Athens,  enslaved  her,  and  devastated  Greece,  and,  in  her  turn,  Sparta  was  com- 
pelled to  bend  before  the  power  of  Thebes;  and  let  it  be  ever  remembered, 
especially  let  the  truth  sink  deep  into  American  minds,  that  it  was  the  WANT  OF 
union  among  her  several  states  which  finally  gave  the  mastery  of  all  Greece  to 
Philip  of  Macedon. 


140 


C apitol  Centennial  Celebration 


And  there  has  also  been  a  Roman  liberty,  a  proud,  ambitious,  domineering 
spirit,  professing  free  and  popular  principles  in  Rome  itself,  but,  even  in  the  best 
days  of  the  republic,  ready  to  carry  slavery  and  chains  into  her  provinces  and 
through  every  country  over  which  her  eagles  could  be  borne.  Who  ever  heard  of 
liberty  in  Spain,  or  Gaul,  or  Germany,  or  Britain  in  the  days  of  Rome?  There 
was  none  such.  As  the  Roman  Empire  declined,  her  provinces,  not  instructed  ill 
the  principles  of  free  popular  government,  one  after  another  declined  also,  and 
when  Rome  herself  fell  in  the  end,  all  fell  together. 

I  have  said,  gentlemen,  that  our  inheritance  is  an  inheritance  of  American  liberty. 
That  liberty  is  characteristic,  peculiar,  and  altogether  our  own.  Nothing  like  it 
existed  111  former  times  nor  was  known  in  the  most  enlightened  states  of  antiquity; 
while  with  us  its  principles  have  become  interwoven  into  the  minds  of  individual 
men,  connected  with  our  daily  opinions  and  our  daily  habits,  until  it  is,  if  I  may 
so  say,  an  element  of  social  as  well  as  of  political  life;  and  the  consequence  is,  that 
to  whatever  region  an  American  citizen  carries  himself,  he  takes  with  him,  fully 
developed  111  his  own  understanding  and  experience,  our  American  principles  and 
opinions,  and  becomes  ready  at  once,  111  cooperation  with  others,  to  apply  them 
to  the  formation  of  new  governments.  Of  this  a  most  wonderful  instance  maybe 
seen  in  the  history  of  the  .State  of  California. 

On  a  former  occasion  I  have  ventured  to  remark  that  "it  is  very  difficult  to 
establish  a  free  conservative  government  for  the  equal  advancement  of  all  the 
interests  of  society.  What  has  Germany  done;  learned  Germany,  fuller  of  ancient 
lore  than  all  the  world  beside?  What  has  Italy  done  ?  What  have  they  done  who 
dwell  on  the  spot  where  CiCKRO  lived  ?  They  have  not  the  power  of  self-govern- 
ment which  a  common  town  meeting  with  us  possesses.  Yes,  I  say  that  those 
persons  who  have  gone  from  our  town  meetings  to  dig  gold  in  California  are  more 
fit  to  make  a  republican  government  than  any  body  of  men  in  Germany  or  Italy 
because  the)'  have  learned  this  one  great  lesson,  that  there  is  no  security  with- 
out law  ,  and  that  under  the  circumstances  in  which  they  are  placed,  where  there 
is  no  military  authority  to  cut  their  throats,  there  is  no  sovereign  will  but  the  w  ill 
of  the  majority;  that,  therefore,  if  the)-  remain,  they  must  submit  to  that  will." 
And  this  I  believe  to  be  strictly  true. 

Now,  fellow-citizens,  if  your  patience  will  hold  out,  I  will  venture,  before  pro- 
ceeding to  the  more  appropriate  and  particular  duties  of  the  day,  to  state  in  a 
few  words  what  I  take  these  American  political  principles  to  be.  The)-  consist, 
as  I  think,  in  the  first  place,  in  the  establishment  of  popular  governments  on  the 
basis  of  representation,  for  it  is  plain  that  a  pure  democracy,  like  that  which 
existed  in  some  of  the  states  of  Greece,  in  which  every  individual  had  a  direct 
vote  in  the  enactment  of  all  laws,  can  not  possibly  exist  in  a  country  of  wide 
extent.  This  representation  is  to  be  made  as  equal  as  circumstances  will  allow. 
Now,  this  principle  of  popular  representation,  prevailing  either  in  all  tin-  branches 
of  governments  or  111  some  of  them,  has  existed  in  these  States  almost  from  the 
days  of  the  settlements  at  Jamestown  and  Plymouth,  borrowed,  no  doubt,  from 
the  example  of  the  popular  branch  of  the  British  legislature.  The  representation 
of  the  people  in  the  British  House  of  Commons  was  indeed  originally  very  unequal, 
and  it  is  yet  not  equal.  Indeed,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  appearance  of 
knights  and  burgesses,  assembling  on  the  summons  of  the  Crown,  was  not  intended 
at  first  as  an  assistance  and  support  to  the  royal  prerogative  in  matters  of  revenue 
and  taxation  rather  than  as  a  mode  of  ascertaining  popular  Opinion.  Neverthe- 
less, representation  had  a  popular  origin  and  savored  more  and  more  of  the  char- 
acter of  that  origin  as  it  acquired  by  slow  degrees  greater  and  greater  strength  in 
the  actual  government  of  the  country.  In  fact,  the  constitution  of  the  Mouse  of 
Commons  was  a  form  of  representation,  however  unequal;  numbers  were  counted 


list  fusion  Corner  Stone 


141 


and  majorities  prevailed.  And  when  our  ancestors,  acting  upon  this  example, 
introduced  more  equality  of  representation,  the  idea  assumed  a  more  rational  and 
distinct  shape.  At  any  rate  this  manner  of  exercising  popular  power  was  familiar 
to  our  fathers  when  they  settled  on  this  continent.  They  adopted  it,  and  genera- 
tion has  risen  up  after  generation,  all  acknowledging  it  and  becoming  acquainted 
with  its  practice  and  its  forms. 

And  the  next  fundamental  principle  in  our  system  is,  that  the  will  of  the  major- 
ity, fairly  expressed  through  the  means  of  representation,  shall  have  the  force  of 
law  ;  and  it  is  quite  evident  in  a  country  without  thrones  or  aristocracies  or  privi- 
leged castes  or  classes  there  can  be  no  other  foundation  for  law  to  stand  upon. 

And,  as  the  necessary  result  of  this,  the  third  element  is,  that  the  law  is  the 
supreme  rule  for  the  government  of  all.  The  great  sentiment  of  AlCj^US,  so 
beautifully  presented  to  us  by  Sir  Wi i.i.ia.m  Junks,  is  absolutely  indispensable  to 
the  construction  and  maintenance  of  political  systems: 

What  constitutes  a  state? 
Not  high-raised  battlements  or  labored  mound, 

Thick  wall,  or  moated  gate; 
Not  cities  proud,  with  spires  and  turrets  crowned; 

Not  bays  and  broad-arm'd  ports, 
Where,  laughing  at  the  storm,  rich  navies  ride; 

Not  starr'd  and  spangled  courts. 
Where  low-brow'd  baseness  wafts  perfume  to  pride. 

No — Mux,  high-minded  Men, 
With  powers  as  far  above  didl  brutes  endued 

In  forest,  brake,  or  den, 
As  beasts  excel  cold  rock  and  brambles  rude; 

Men  who  their  duties  know, 
But  know  their  rights,  and  knowing,  dare  maintain; 

Prevent  the  long-aim'd  blow, 
And  crush  the  tyrant  while  they  rend  the  chain, 

These  constitute  a  state; 
And  SOVEREIGN  I<aw,  that  state's  collected  will. 

O'er  thrones  and  globes  elate. 
Sits  empress,  crowning  good,  repressing  ill. 

And,  finally,  another  most  important  part  of  the  great  fabric  of  American  liberty 
is,  that  there  shall  be  written  constitutions,  founded  on  the  immediate  authority 
of  the  people  themselves,  and  regulating  and  restraining  all  the  powers  conferred 
upon  government,  whether  legislative,  executive,  or  judicial. 

This,  fellow-citizens,  I  suppose  to  be  a  just  summary  of  our  American  princi- 
ples, and  I  have  on  this  occasion  sought  to  express  them  in  the  plainest  and  in  the 
fewest  words.  The  summary  may  not  be  entirely  exact,  but  I  hope  it  may  be  suffi- 
ciently so  to  make  manifest  to  the  rising  generation  among  ourselves,  and  to  those 
elsewhere  who  may  choose  to  inquire  into  the  nature  of  our  political  institutions, 
the  general  theory  upon  which  they  are  founded.  And  I  now  proceed  to  add 
that  the  strong  and  deep-settled  conviction  of  all  intelligent  persons  among  us  is, 
that  in  order  to  support  a  useful  and  wise  government  upon  these  popular  princi- 
ples the  general  education  of  the  people  and  the  wide  diffusion  of  pure  morality 
and  true  religion  are  indispensable.  Individual  virtue  is  a  part  of  public  virtue. 
It  is  difficult  to  see  how  there  can  remain  morality  in  the  Government  when  it 
shall  cease  to  exist  among  the  people,  or  how  the  aggregate  of  the  political  institu- 
tions, all  the  organs  of  which  consist  only  of  men,  should  be  wise  and  beneficent, 
and  competent  to  inspire  confidence,  if  the  opposite  qualities  belong  to  the  indi- 
viduals who  constitute  those  organs  and  make  up  that  aggregate. 

And  now,  fellow-citizens,  I  take  leave  of  this  part  of  the  duty  which  I  proposed 
to  perform,  and  once  more  felicitating  you  and  myself  that  our  eyes  have  seen 
the  light  of  this  blessed  morning,  and  that  our  ears  have  heard  the  shouts  with 


142 


Capital  Centennial  Celebration 


which  joyous  thousands  welcome  its  return,  and  joining  with  von  in  the  hope 
that  every  revolving  year  shall  renew  these  rejoicings  to  the  end  of  time,  I  proceed 
to  address  you,  shortly,  upon  the  particular  occasion  of  our  assembling  here  to-day. 

Fellow-citizens,  by  the  act  of  Congress  of  the  30th  of  .September,  1850,  provision 
was  made  for  the  extension  of  the  Capitol,  according  to  such  plan  as  might 
be  approved  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  necessary  sums  to  bs 
expended  under  his  direction  by  such  architect  as  he  might  appoint.  This  measure 
was  imperatively  demanded  for  the  use  of  the  legislative  and  judiciary  departments, 
the  public  libraries,  the  occasional  accommodation  of  the  Chief  Executive  Magis- 
trate, and  for  other  objects.  No  act  of  Congress  incurring  a  large  expenditure  has 
received  more  general  approbation  of  the  people.  The  President  has  proceeded  to 
execute  this  law.  He  has  approved  a  plan;  he  has  appointed  an  architect;  and  all 
things  are  now  read}-  for  the  commencement  of  the  work. 

The  anniversary  of  National  Independence  appeared  to  afford  an  auspicious 
occasion  for  laying  the  foundation  stone  of  the  additional  building.  That  cere- 
mony has  now  been  performed  by  the  President  himself  in  the  presence  and  view 
of  this  multitude.  He  has  thought  that  the  day  and  the  occasion  made  a  united 
and  an  imperative  call  for  some  short  address  to  the  people  here  assembled;  and 
it  is  at  his  request  that  I  have  appeared  before  you  to  perform  that  part  of  the 
duty  which  was  deemed  incumbent  upon  us. 

Beneath  the  stone  is  deposited,  among  other  things,  a  list  of  which  will  be 
published,  the  following  brief  account  of  the  proceedings  of  this  day,  in  my  hand- 
writing: 

On  the  morning  of  the  first  day  of  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  the  Independence  of  the  I'nited 
States  of  America,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  being  the  4th  day  of  July,  1831,  this  stone,  de- 
signed as  the  corner  stone  of  the  extension  of  the  Capitol,  according  to  a  plan  approved  by  the 
President,  in  pursuance  of  an  act  of  Congress,  was  laid  by  Millakd  Fillmore,  President  of 
the  United  States,  assisted  by  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Masonic  lodges,  in  the  presence  of  many 
Members  of  Congress,  of  officers  of  the  executive  and  judiciary  departments,  National,  State, 
and  District,  of  officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  the  corporate  authorities  of  this  and  neighboring 
cities,  many  associations,  civil  and  military  and  Masonic,  officers  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
and  National  Institute,  professors  of  colleges  and  teachers  of  schools  of  the  District  with  their 
students  and  pupils,  and  a  vast  concourse  of  people  from  places  near  and  remote,  including  a 
few  surviving  gentlemen  who  witnessed  the  laying  of  the  cornerstone  of  the  Capitol  by  Presi- 
dent Washington  on  the  iSth  day  of  September,  1793. 

If  it  shall  hereafter  be  the  will  of  God  that  this  structure  shall  fall  from  its  base,  that  its 
foundation  be  upturned  and  this  deposit  brought  to  the  eyes  of  men,  be  it  then  known  that  on 
this  day  the  Union  of  the  United  States  of  America  stands  firm;  that  their  Constitution  still 
exists  unimpaired  and  with  all  its  original  usefulness  and  glory;  growing  every  day  stronger 
and  stronger  in  the  affections  of  the  great  body  of  the  American  people  and  attracting  more 
and  more  the  admiration  of  the  world.  And  all  here  assembled,  whether  belonging  to  public 
life  or  to  private  life,  with  hearts  devoutly  thankful  to  Almighty  God  for  the  preservation  of  the 
liberty  and  happiness  of  the  country,  unite  in  sincere  and  fervent  prayers  that  this  deposit  and 
the  walls  and  arches,  the  domes  and  towers,  the  columns  and  entablatures,  now  to  be  erected 
over  it,  may  endure  forever! 

God  save  the  United  States  of  America! 

Daniel  Webster, 
Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States. 

Fellow-citizens,  fifty-eight  years  ago  Washington  stood  on  this  spot  to  execute 
a  duty  like  that  which  has  now  been  performed.  He  then  laid  the  corner  stone 
of  the  original  Capitol.  He  was  at  the  head  of  the  Government  at  that  time, 
weak  in  resources,  burdened  with  debt,  just  struggling  into  political  existence  and 
respectability,  and  agitated  by  the  heaving  waves  which  were  overturning  European 
thrones.  But  even  then,  in  many  important  respects,  the  Government  was  strong 
It  was  strong  in  Washington's  own  great  character;  it  was  strong  in  the  wisdom 
and  patriotism  of  other  eminent  public  men,  his  political  associates  and  fellow 
laborers,  and  it  was  strong  in  the  affections  of  the  people. 


Extension  Corner  Stone 


M3 


Since  that  time  astonishing  changes  have  been  wrought  in  the  condition  and 
prospects  of  the  American  people,  and  a  degree  of  progress  witnessed  with  which 
the  world  can  furnish  no  parallel.  As  we  review  the  course  of  that  progress 
wonder  and  amazement  arrest  our  attention  at  every  step.  The  present  occasion, 
although  allowing  of  no  lengthened  remarks,  may  yet  perhaps  admit  of  a  short 
comparative  statement  between  important  subjects  of  national  interest  as  they 
existed  at  that  day  and  as  they  now  exist.  I  have  adopted  for  this  purpose  the 
tabular  form  of  statement  as  being  the  most  brief  and  the  most  accurate. 

( 'omparative  table 


Number  of  States  

Representatives  and  Senators  in  Congress  

Population  of  the  United  States  

Population  of  Boston      

Population  of  Baltimore   . 

Population  of  Philadelphia  

Population  of  New  Vork  City  

Population  of  Washington  

Population  of  Richmond  

Population  of  Charleston  

Amount  of  receipts  into  the  Treasury  

Amount  of  expenditures  of  the  Tinted  States  

Amount  of  imports  

Amount  of  exports    

Amount  of  tonnage  

Area  of  the  United  States,  in  square  miles  

Rank  and  file  of  the  Army    

Militia  (enrolled)  

Navy  of  the  United  States  (vessels)     

Navy  armament  (ordnance)     . 

Treaties  and  conventions  with  foreign  powers   

Light-houses  and  light-boats   

Expenditures  for  light-boats    

Area  of  the  first  Capitol  building  (square  feet)   

Area  of  the  present  Capitol,  including  extension  (acres) 

Lines  of  railroads,  in  miles    

Lines  of  telegraph,  in  miles  

Number  of  post-offices  

Number  of  miles  of  post  route    

Amount  of  revenue  from  post  offices  

Amount  of  expenditures  of  Post-Office  Department  

Number  of  miles  mail  transportation   

Number  of  colleges  

Public  libraries   

Volumes  in  libraries  

School  libraries  

Volumes  in  libraries    


1793- 


15 
135 

3, 929,  328 
18,  038 
I3.503 
42.520 
33. 121 


4, 000 

16. 359 
$5,  720, 624 

$7. 529.  575 
$3 1 , 000, 000 
$25,  109,  000 
520,  764 
805,461 
5.  120 


12,  061 
14,  641 


209 
5. 642 
5104,  747 
$72, 040 


19 
35 
75,000 


In  respect  to  the  growth  of  Western  trade  and  commerce,  I  extract  a  few  sen- 
tences from  a  very  valuable  address  before  the  Historical  Society  of  Ohio,  by 
William  D.  Gallagher,  Esq.,  1850: 

A  few  facts  will  exhibit  as  well  as  a  volume  the  wonderful  growth  of  Western  trade  and 
commerce.  Previous  to  the  year  1800  some  eight  or  ten  keel  boats  of  twenty  or  twenty-five  tons 
each  performed  all  the  carrying  trade  between  Cincinnati  and  Pittsburg.  In  1S02  the  first  Gov- 
ernment vessel  appeared  on  Lake  Erie.  In  1S11  the  first  steamboat  (the  Orleans)  was  launched 
at  Pittsburg.  In  1S26  the  waters  of  Michigan  were  first  plowed  by  the  keel  of  a  steamboat,  a 
pleasure  trip  to  Green  Bay  being  planned  and  executed  in  the  summer  of  this  year.    In  1832 


[44 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


a  steamboat  first  appeared  at  Chicago.  At  the  present  time  the  entire  number  of  steamboats 
running  on  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  and  their  tributaries  is  more  probably  over  than  under  six 
hundred,  the  aggregate  tonnage  of  which  is  not  short  of  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand — a 
larger  number  of  steamboats  than  England  can  claim  and  a  greater  steam  commercial  marine 
than  that  employed  by  Great  Britain  and  her  dependencies. 


And  now,  fellow-citizens,  having  stated  to  you  this  infallible  proof  of  the  growth 
and  prosperity  of  the  nation,  I  ask  you,  and  I  would  ask  every  man,  whether  the 
Government  which  has  been  over  us  has  proved  itself  an  infliction  or  a  curse 
to  the  country  or  any  part  of  it  ? 

Ye  men  of  the  South,  of  all  the  original  Southern  States,  what  say  you  to 
all  this?  Are  you,  or  any  of  you,  ashamed  of  this  great  work  of  your  fathers? 
Your  fathers  were  not  they  who  stoned  the  prophets  and  killed  them.  They 
were  among  the  prophets;  they  were  of  the  prophets;  they  were  themselves  the 
prophets. 

Ye  men  of  Virginia,  what  do  you  say  to  all  this?    Ye  men  of  the  Potomac, 


dwelling  along  the  shores  of    that  river 
where  W  ashington    lived,  and  where 
he  died,  and  where  his  remains  now 
rest  — ye,  so  many  of  whom  may  see 
the  domes  of  the  Capitol  from  your 
own   homes — what  do  you  say? 
$'  >L      ^e  men  °f  Ja«ies  River  and  the 
Bay,  places  consecrated  by  the  earl}- 
settlement  of   your  Commonwealth, 
'      what  do  you  say  ?    Do  you  desire, 
from  the  soil  of  your  State  or  as  you 
travel  to   the    North,  to  see  these  halls 
vacated,  their  beaut}-  and  ornaments  de- 
stroyed,   and   their   national  usefulness 
clean  gone  forever? 

Ye  men  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge,  many 
thousands  of  whom  are  nearer  to  this  Cap- 
itol than  to  the  seat  of  government  of 
your  own  State,  what  do  you  think  of 
breaking  this  great  association  into  frag- 
ments of  States  and  of  people?  I  know 
some  of  you,  and  I  believe  you  all  would 
be  almost  as  much  shocked  at  the  announce- 
ment of  such  a  catastrophe  as  if  you  were  to  be  informed  that  the  Blue  Ridge 
itself  would  soon  totter  to  its  base.  And  ye  men  of  western  Virginia,  who  occupy 
the  great  slope  from  the  top  of  the  Alleghany  to  the  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  what 
course  do  you  propose  to  yourselves  by  disunion?  If  you  "secede,"  what  do 
you  "secede"  from,  and  what  do  you  "accede"  to?  Do  you  look  for  the  current 
of  the  Ohio  to  change,  and  to  bring  you  and  your  commerce  to  the  tide  waters 
of  Eastern  rivers  ?  What  man  in  his  senses  can  suppose  that  you  will  remain  part 
and  parcel  of  Virginia  a  month  after  Virginia  should  have  ceased  to  be  part  and 
parcel  of  the  United  States? 

The  secession  of  Virginia!  The  secession  of  Yirginia,  whether  alone  or  in 
company,  is  most  improbable,  the  greatest  of  improbabilities.  Virginia,  to  her 
everlasting  honor,  acted  a  great  part  in  framing  and  establishing  the  present  Con- 
stitution. She  hath  had  her  reward  and  her  distinction.  Seven  of  her  noble 
sons  have  each  filled  the  Presidency  and  enjoyed  the  highest  honors  of  the 
country.    Dolorous  complaints  come  up  to  us  from  the  South  that  Virginia  will 


Extension  Corner  Stone 


145 


not  head  the  procession  of  secession  and  lead  the  other  Southern  States  out  of 
the  Union.  This  would  he  something  of  a  marvel,  certainly,  considering  how 
much  pains  Virginia  took  to  lead  these  same  States  into  the  Union,  and  considering, 
too,  that  she  has  partaken  as  largely  of  its  benefits  and  its  government  as  any 
other  State. 

And  ye  men  of  the  other  Southern  States,  members  of  the  old  thirteen;  yes, 
members  of  the  old  thirteen — that  touches  my  regard  and  my  sympathies — North 
Carolina,  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  what  page  in  your  history  or  in  the  history 
of  any  one  of  you  is  brighter  than  those  which  have  been  recorded  since  the 
Union  was  formed,  or  through  what  effect  has  your  prosperity  been  greater  or 
your  peace  and  happiness  better  secured?  What  names  even  has  South  Carolina, 
now  so  much  dissatisfied — what  names  has  she  of  which  her  intelligent  sons  are 
more  proud  than  those  which  have  been  connected  with  the  government  of  South 
Carolina?  In  Revolutionary  times  and  in  the  earliest  days  of  the  Constitution 
there  was  no  State  more  honored  or  more  deserving  to  be  honored.  Where  is 
she  now?  And  "What  a  fall  is  there,  my  countrymen!"  Rut  I  leave  her  to  her 
own  reflections,  commending  to  her  with  all  my  heart  the  due  consideration  of 
her  own  example  in  times  now  gone  by. 

Fellow-citizens,  there  are  some  diseases  of  the  mind  as  well  as  of  the  body, 
diseases  of  communities  as  well  as  diseases  of  individuals,  that  must  be  left  to 
their  own  cure;  at  least  it  is  wise  to  leave  them  so  until  the  last  critical  moment 
shall  arrive. 

I  hope  it  is  not  irreverent,  and  certainly  it  is  not  intended  as  reproach,  when 
I  say  that  I  know  no  stronger  expression  in  our  language  than  that  which  describes 
the  restoration  of  a  wayward  son,  "He  came  to  himself."  He  had  broken  away 
from  all  the  ties  of  love,  family,  and  friendship.  He  had  forsaken  evervthing 
which  he  had  once  regarded  in  his  father's  house.  He  had  quitted  his  natural 
sympathies,  affections,  and  habits,  and  taken  his  journey  into  a  far  country.  He 
had  gone  away  from  himself  and  out  of  himself.  But  misfortunes  overtook  him 
and  famine  threatened  him  with  starvation  and  death.  No  entreaties  from  home 
followed  him  to  beckon  him  back;  no  admonition  from  others  warned  him  of  his 
fate.  But  the  hour  of  reflection  had  come,  and  nature  and  conscience  wrought 
with  him  until  at  length  "he  came  to  himself." 

And  now,  ye  men  of  the  new  States  of  the  South  !  You  are  not  of  the  original 
thirteen.  The  battle  had  been  fought  and  won,  the  revolution  achieved,  and  the 
Constitution  established  before  your  States  had  any  existence  as  States.  You 
came  into  a  prepared  banquet  and  had  seats  assigned  you  at  the  table  just  as 
honorable  as  those  which  were  filled  by  older  guests.  You  have  been  and  are 
singularly  prosperous;  and  if  anyone  should  deny  this  you  would  at  once  con- 
tradict his  assertion.  You  have  bought  vast  quantities  of  choice  and  excellent 
land  at  the  lowest  price;  and  if  the  public  domain  has  not  been  lavished  upon 
you,  you  yourselves  will  admit  that  it  has  been  appropriated  to  your  own  uses  by 
a  very  liberal  hand.  And  yet  in  some  of  these  States— not  in  all — persons  are 
found  in  favor  of  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  or  of  secession  from  it.  Such  opin- 
ions are  expressed  even  where  the  general  prosperity  of  the  community  has  been 
the  most  rapidly  advanced.  In  the  flourishing  and  interesting  State  of  Mississippi, 
for  example,  there  is  a  large  party  which  insists  that  her  grievances  are  intolerable; 
that  the  whole  body  politic  is  in  a  state  of  suffering,  and  all  along  and  through 
her  whole  extent  011  the  Mississippi  a  loud  cry  rings  that  her  only  remedy  is 
"Secession!"  "Secession!"  Now,  gentlemen,  what  infliction  does  the  State  of 
Mississippi  suffer  under?  What  oppression  prostrates  her  strength  or  destroys 
her  happiness?  Before  we  can  judge  of  the  proper  remedy  we  must  know  some- 
thing of  the  disease;  and  for  my  part  I  confess  that  the  real  evil  existing  in  the 

H.  Mis.  211  IO 


146 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


case  appears  to  me  to  be  a  certain  inquietude  or  uneasiness  growing  out  of  a  Iiij^H 
degree  of  prosperity  and  consciousness  of  wealth  and  power,  which  sometimes 
leads  men  to  be  ready  for  changes  and  to  push  on  to  still  higher  elevation.  If 
this  be  the  truth  of  the  matter,  the  doctors  are  about  right.  If  the  complaint 
spring  from  overwrought  prosperity,  for  that  disease  I  have  no  doubt  that  "seces- 
sion" would  prove  a  sovereign  remedy. 

But  I  return  to  the  leading  topic  011  which  I  was  engaged.  In  the  department 
of  invention  there  have  been  wonderful  applications  of  science  to  arts  within  the 
last  sixty  years.  The  spacious  hall  of  the  Patent  Office  is  at  once  the  repository 
and  proof  of  American  inventive  art  and  genius.  Their  results  are  seen  in  the 
numerous  improvements  by  which  human  labor  is  abridged. 

Without  going  into  details,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  say  that  many  of  the  appli- 
cations of  steam  to  locomotion  and  manufactures;  of  electricity  and  magnetism 
to  the  production  of  mechanical  motion,  to  the  electrical  telegraph,  to  the  regis- 
tration of  astronomical  phenomena,  to  the  art  of  multiplying  engravings;  the 
introduction  and  improvement  among  us  of  all  the  important  inventions  of  the 
Old  World,  are  strikingly  indicative  of  this  country  in  the  useful  arts. 

The  network  of  railroads  and  telegraph  lines  by  which  this  vast  country  is 
reticulated  have  not  only  developed  its  resources,  but  united  emphatically,  in 
metallic  bands,  all  parts  of  the  Union. 

The  hydraulic  works  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Boston  surpass  in  extent 
and  importance  those  of  ancient  Rome. 

But  we  have  not  confined  our  attention  to  the  immediate  application  of  science 
to  the  useful  arts.  We  have  entered  the  field  of  original  research  and  have  enlarged 
the  bounds  of  scientific  knowledge. 

Sixty  years  ago,  besides  the  brilliant  discoveries  of  Franklin  in  electricity  scarcely 
anything  had  been  done  among  us  in  the  way  of  original  discovery.  Our  men 
of  science  were  content  with  repeating  the  experiments  and  diffusing  a  knowledge 
of  the  discoveries  of  the  learned  of  the  Old  World  without  attempting  to  add  a 
single  new  fact  or  principle  to  the  existing  stock.  Within  the  last  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years  a  remarkable  improvement  has  taken  place  in  this  respect.  Our  natu- 
ral history  has  been  explored  in  all  its  branches;  our  geology  has  been  investigated 
with  results  of  the  highest  interest  to  practical  and  theoretical  science;  discoveries 
have  been  made  in  pure  chemistry  and  electricity  which  have  received  the  appro- 
bation of  the  world.  The  advance  which  has  been  made  in  meteorology  in  this 
country  within  the  last  twenty  years  is  equal  to  that  made  during  the  same  period 
in  all  the  world  besides. 

In  1793  there  was  not  in  the  United  States  an  instrument  with  which  a  good 
observation  of  the  heavenly  bodies  could  be  made.  There  are  now  instruments 
at  Washington,  Cambridge,  and  Cincinnati  equal  to  those  at  the  best  European 
observatories;  and  the  original  discoveries  in  astronomy  within  the  last  five  years 
in  this  country  are  among  the  most  brilliant  of  the  age.  I  can  hardly  refrain 
from  saying  in  this  connection  that  La  Place  has  been  translated,  explained, 
and  in  some  instances  his  illustrations  improved  by  BowniTCH. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  geography  and  topography  of  the  American  continent 
has  been  rapidly  extended  by  the  labor  and  science  of  the  officers  of  the  United 
States  Arm}-,  and  discoveries  of  much  interest  on  distant  seas  have  resulted  from 
the  enterprise  of  the  Navy. 

In  1807  a  survey  of  the  coast  of  the  United  States  was  commenced,  which  at 
that  time  it  was  supposed  no  American  was  competent  to  direct.  The  work  has, 
however,  grown  within  the  last  few  years,  under  a  native  superintendent,  in  impor- 
tance and  extent  beyond  any  enterprise  of  the  kind  ever  before  attempted. 

These  facts  conclusively  prove  that  a  great  advance  has  been  made  among  us, 
not  only  in  the  application  of  science  to  the  wants  of  ordinary  life,  but  to  science 


Extension  Corner  Stone 


H7 


itself  in  its  highest  branches — in  its  application  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  the 
immortal  mind. 

In  respect  to  literature,  with  the  exception  of  some  books  of  elementary  educa- 
tion, and  some  theological  treatises,  of  which  scarcely  any  but  those  of  Jonathan 
Edwards  have  any  permanent  value,  and  some  works  on  local  history  and  politics, 
like  Hutchinson's  Massachusetts,  Jkkferson's  Notes  on  Virginia,  the  Federalist, 
Bki.knap's  New  Hampshire,  and  Morsk'S  Geography,  and  a  few  others,  America 
had  not  produced  a  single  work  of  any  repute  in  literature.  We  were  almost  wholly 
dependent  on  imported  books.  Even  our  Bibles  and  Testaments  were,  for  the  most 
part,  printed  abroad.  The  book  trade  is  now  one  of  the  greatest  branches  of  busi- 
ness, and  many  works  of  standard  value  and  of  high  reputation  in  Europe  as  well 
as  at  home  have  been  produced  by  American  auth6rs  in  every  department  of 
literary  composition. 

While  the  country  has  been  expanding  in  dimensions,  in  numbers,  and  in 
wealth,  the  Government  has  applied  a  wise  forecast  in  the  adoption  of  measures 
necessary,  when  the  world  shall  no  longer  be  at  peace,  to  maintain  the  national 
honor,  whether  bv  appropriate  displays  of  vigor  abroad  or  by  well-adapted  means 
of  defense  at  home.  A  navy  which  has  so  often  illustrated  our  history  by  heroic 
achievements,  though  restrained  in  peaceful  times  in  its  operations  to  narrow  limits, 
possesses  in  its  admirable  elements  the  means  of  great  and  sudden  expansion,  and 
is  justlv  looked  upon  by  the  nation  as  the  right  arm  of  its  power,  an  army,  still 
smaller,  but  not  less  perfect  in  its  detail,  which  has  on  many  a  field  exhibited  the 
militarv  aptitudes  and  prowess  of  the  race,  and  demonstrated  the  wisdom  which 
has  presided  over  its  organization  and  government. 

While  the  gradual  and  slow  enlargement  of  these  respective  military  arms  has 
been  regulated  by  a  jealous  watchfulness  over  the  public  treasure,  there  has, 
nevertheless,  been  freely  given  all  that  was  needed  to  perfect  their  quality;  and 
each  affords  the  nucleus  of  any  enlargement  that  the  public  exigencies  may 
demand,  from  the  millions  of  brave  hearts  and  strong  arms  upon  the  land  and 
water. 

The  Navy  is  the  active  and  aggressive  element  of  national  defense,  and,  let 
loose  from  our  own  seacoast,  must  display  its  power  in  the  seas  and  channels  of 
the  enemy.  To  do  this  it  need  not  be  large,  and  it  can  never  be  large  enough 
to  defend  by  its  presence  at  home  all  our  ports  and  harbors.  But,  in  the  absence 
of  the  Navy,  what  can  the  brave  hearts  and  strong  arms  of  the  Army  and  militia 
do  against  the  enemy"s  line-of-battle  ships  and  steamers  falling  without  notice 
upon  our  coast?  What  will  guard  our  cities  from  tribute,  our  merchant  vessels 
and  our  navy-yards  from  conflagration?  Here,  again,  we  see  a  wise  forecast  in 
the  system  of  defensive  measures  which,  especially  since  the  close  of  the  war  with 
Great  Britain,  has  been  steadily  followed  by  our  Government.  While  the  perils 
from  which  our  great  establishments  had  just  escaped  were  yet  fresh  of  remem- 
brance, a  system  of  fortifications  was  begun  which  now.  though  not  quite  com- 
plete, fences  in  our  important  points  with  impassable  strength.  More  than  four 
thousand  cannon  may  at  any  moment,  within  strong  and  permanent  works, 
arranged  with  all  the  advantages  and  appliances  that  the  art  affords,  be  turned 
to  the  protection  of  the  seacoast  and  be  served  by  the  men  whose  hearths  they 
shelter.  Happy  for  us  that  it  is  so,  since  these  are  means  of  security  that  time 
alone  can  supply;  and  since  the  improvements  of  maritime  warfare,  by  making 
distant  expeditions  easy  and  speedy,  have  made  them  more  probable  and  at  the 
same  time  more  difficult  to  anticipate  and  provide  against.  The  cost  of  fortifying 
all  the  important  points  on  our  whole  Atlantic  and  Gulf  of  Mexico  frontier  will 
not  exceed  the  amount  expended  on  the  fortifications  of  Paris. 

In  this  connection  one  most  important  facility  in  the  defense  of  the  country  is 
not  to  be  overlooked;  it  is  the  almost  instantaneous  rapidity  with  which  the 


148 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


soldiers  of  the  Army  and  any  number  of  the  militia  corps  may  be  brought  to  any 
point  where  a  hostile  attack  may  at  any  time  be  made  or  threatened. 

And  this  extension  of  territory  embraced  within  the  United  States,  increase  of 
its  population,  commerce,  and  manufactures,  development  of  its  resources  by 
canals  and  railroads,  and  rapidity  of  intercommunication  by  innumerable  steam- 
boats and  telegraphs  has  been  accomplished  without  the  overthrow  of  or  danger  to 
the  public  liberties  by  any  assumption  of  military  power,  and,  indeed,  without  any 
permanent  increase  of  the  Army  except  for  the  purpose  of  frontier  defense,  and 
of  affording  a  slight  guard  to  the  public  property;  or  of  the  Navy  any  further 
than  to  assure  the  navigator  that  in  whatsoever  sea  he  shall  sail  his  ship  he  is 
protected  by  the  Stars  and  Stripes  of  his  country.  All  this  has  been  done  with- 
out the  shedding  of  a  drop  of  blood  for  treason  or  rebellion;  all  this  while  systems 
of  popular  representation  have  regularly  been  supported  in  the  State  govern- 
ments and  in  the  General  Government;  all  this  while  laws,  National  and  State, 
of  such  a  character  have  been  passed  and  have  been  so  wisely  administered  that 
I  may  stand  up  here  to-day  and  declare,  as  I  now  do  declare,  in  the  face  of  all 
the  intelligent  of  the  age,  that  for  the  period  which  has  elapsed  from  the  day 
that  Washington  laid  the  foundation  of  this  Capitol  to  the  present  time  there 
has  been  no  country  upon  the  earth  in  which  life,  liberty,  and  property  have 
been  more  amply  and  steadily  secured  or  more  freely  enjoyed  than  in  these 
United  States  of  America.  Who  is  there  that  will  deny  this?  Who  is  there  pre- 
pared with  a  greater  or  a  better  example  ?  Who  is  there  that  can  stand  upon 
the  foundation  of  facts,  acknowledged  or  proved,  and  assert  that  these  our  repub- 
lican institutions  have  not  answered  the  true  ends  of  Government  beyond  all 
precedent  in  human  history  ? 

There  is  yet  another  view.  There  are  still  higher  considerations.  Man  is  an 
intellectual  being,  destined  to  immortality.  There  is  a  spirit  in  him,  and  the 
breath  of  the  Almighty  hath  given  him  understanding.  Then  only  is  he  tending 
toward  his  own  destiny  while  he  seeks  for  knowledge  or  virtue,  for  the  will  of 
his  Maker,  and  for  just  conceptions  of  his  own  duty.  Of  all  important  questions, 
therefore,  let  this,  the  most  important  of  all,  be  first  asked  and  first  answered: 
In  what  country  of  the  habitable  globe  of  great  extent  and  large  population  are 
the  means  of  knowledge  most  generally  diffused  and  enjoyed  among  the  people  ? 
This  question  admits  of  one  and  only  one  answer.  It  is  here;  it  is  here  in  these 
United  States.  It  is  among  the  descendants  of  those  who  settled  at  Jamestown; 
of  those  who  were  pilgrims  on  the  shore  of  Plymouth,  and  of  those  other  races  of 
men  who  in  subsequent  times  have  become  joined  in  this  great  American  family. 
Let  one  fact  incapable  of  doubt  or  dispute  satisfy  every  mind  on  this  point.  The 
population  of  the  United  States  is  twenty-three  millions.  Now  take  the  map  of 
the  continent  of  Europe  and  spread  it  out  before  you.  Take  your  scale  and  your 
dividers  and  lay  off  in  one  area,  in  any  shape  you  please,  a  triangle,  square,  circle, 
parallelogram,  or  trapezoid,  and  of  an  extent  that  shall  contain  one  hundred  and 
fifty  millions  of  people,  and  there  will  be  found  within  the  United  States  more 
persons  who  do  habitually  read  and  write  than  can  be  embraced  within  the  lines 
of  your  demarcation. 

But  there  is  something  more  even  than  this.  Man  is  not  only  an  intellectual 
but  he  is  also  a  religious  being,  and  his  religious  feelings  and  habits  require 
cultivation. 

Let  the  religious  element  in  man's  nature  be  neglected,  let  him  be  influencea 
by  no  higher  motives  than  low  self-interest  and  subjected  to  no  stronger  restraint 
than  the  limits  of  civil  authority,  and  he  becomes  the  creature  of  selfish  passions 
or  blind  fanaticism. 

The  spectacle  of  a  nation  powerful  and  enlightened,  but  without  Christian  faith, 
has  been  presented  almost  within  our  own  day  as  a  warning  beacon  for  the  nations. 


Extension  Corner  Stone 


149 


On  the  other  hand,  the  cultivation  of  the  religious  sentiment  represses  licentious- 
ness, incites  to  a  general  benevolence  and  the  practical  acknowledgment  of  the 
brotherhood  of  man,  inspires  respect  for  law  and  order,  and  gives  strength  to 
the  whole  social  fabric,  at  the  same  time  that  it  conducts  the  human  soul  upward 
to  the  Author  of  its  being. 

Now,  I  think  it  may  be  stated  with  truth  that  in  no  country  in  proportion  to  its 
population  are  there  so  many  benevolent  establishments  connected  with  religious 
instruction — Bible,  missionary,  and  tract  societies,  supported  by  public  and  private 
contributions — as  in  our  own.  There  are  also  institutions  for  the  education  of 
the  blind,  the  deaf  and  dumb;  of  idiots;  for  the  reception  of  orphan  and  destitute 
children;  for  moral  reform,  designed  for  children  and  females,  respectively;  insti- 
tutions for  the  reformation  of  criminals;  not  to  speak  of  those  numerous  establish- 
ments in  almost  every  county  and  town  in  the  United  States  for  the  reception  of 
the  aged,  infirm,  and  destitute  poor,  many  of  whom  have  fled  to  our  shores  to 
escape  the  poverty  and  wretchedness  of  their  condition  at  home. 

In  the  United  States  there  is  no  church  establishment  or  ecclesiastical  authority 
founded  by  Government.  Public  worship  is  maintained  either  by  voluntary  asso- 
ciations and  contributions  or  by  trusts  and  donations  of  a  charitable  origin. 

Now,  I  think  it  safe  to  say  that  a  greater  proportion  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  attend  public  worship,  decently  clad,  well  behaved,  and  well  seated,  than 
of  any  other  country  of  the  civilized  world. 

Edifices  of  religion  are  seen  everywhere.  Their  aggregate  cost  would  amount 
to  an  immense  sum  of  money.  They  are,  in  general,  kept  in  good  repair  and 
consecrated  to  the  purposes  of  public  worship.  In  these  edifices  the  people  reg- 
ularly assemble  on  the  Sabbath  day,  which  is  sacredly  set  apart  for  rest  by  all 
classes  from  secular  employment  and  for  religious  meditation  and  worship,  to  listen 
to  the  reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  discourses  from  pious  ministers  of  the 
several  denominations. 

This  attention  to  the  wants  of  the  intellect  and  of  the  soul,  as  manifested  by 
the  voluntary  support  of  schools  and  colleges,  of  churches  and  benevolent  insti- 
tutions, is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  characteristics  of  the  American  people, 
not  less  strikingly  exhibited  in  the  new  than  in  the  older  settlements  of  the 
country. 

On  the  spot  where  the  first  trees  of  the  forest  are  felled,  near  the  log  cabins 
of  the  pioneers,  are  to  be  seen  rising  together  the  church  and  the  schoolhouse. 
So  has  it  been  from  the  beginning,  and  God  grant  that  it  may  thus  continue! 

On  other  shores,  above  their  moldering  towns, 

In  sullen  pomp,  the  tall  cathedral  frowns; 

Simple  and  frail,  our  lowly  temples  throw 

Their  slender  shadows  on  the  paths  below; 

Scarce  steals  the  wind  that  sweeps  the  woodland  track, 

The  larch's  perfume  from  the  settler's  ax, 

Ere,  like  a  vision  of  the  morning  air, 

His  slight-framed  steeple  marks  the  house  of  prayer. 

*  *  *  *  * 

Yet  Faith's  pure  hymn  beneath  its  shelter  rude 
Breathes  out  as  sweetly  to  the  tangled  wood 
As  where  the  rays  through  blazing  oriels  pour 
On  marble  shaft  and  tessellated  floor. 

W  ho  does  not  admit  that  this  unparalleled  growth  of  prosperity  and  renown  is 
the  result,  under  Providence,  of  the  Union  of  these  States  under  a  general  Con- 
stitution which  guarantees  to  each  State  a  republican  form  of  government  and 
to  every  man  the  enjoyment  of  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  free 
from  civil  tyranny  or  ecclesiastical  domination  ? 

To  bring  home  this  idea  to  the  present  occasion,  who  does  not  feel  that  when 
President  Washington  laid  his  hand  on  the  foundation  of  the  first  Capitol  build- 


Capitol  Centennial  Celebration 


ing  he  performed  a  great  work  of  perpetuation  of  the  Union  and  the  Constitution  ? 
Who  does  not  feel  that  this  seat  of  the  General  Government,  healthful  in  its 
situation,  central  in  its  position,  near  the  mountains  from  whence  gusli  fresh 
springs  of  wonderful  virtue,  teeming  with  nature's  richest  products,  and  yet  not 
far  from  the  hays  and  the  great  estuaries  of  the  sea,  easily  accessible  and  gener- 
ally agreeable  in  climate  and  association,  does  give  strength  to  the  Union  of  these 
States;  that  this  city,  bearing  an  immortal  name,  with  its  broad  streets  and  avenues, 
its  public  squares  and  magnificent  edifices  of  the  General  Government,  erected 
for  the  purposes  of  carrying  on  within  them  the  important  business  of  the  several 
Deportments;  for  the  reception  of  wonderful  and  curious  inventions,  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  records  of  American  learning  and  genius,  of  extensive  collections  of 
the  products  of  nature  and  art,  brought  hither  for  study  and  comparison  from  all 
parts  of  the  world;  adorned  with  numerous  churches,  and  sprinkled  over,  I  am 
happy  to  say,  with  many  public  schools,  where  all  children  of  the  city,  without 
distinction,  are  provided  with  the  means  of  obtaining  a  good  education;  where 
there  are  academies  and  colleges,  professional  schools  and  public  libraries,  should 
continue  to  receive,  as  it  has  heretofore  received,  the  fostering  care  of  Congress, 
and  should  be  regarded  as  the  permanent  seat  of  the  National  Government?  Here, 
too,  a  citizen  of  the  great  republic  of  letters,  a  republic  which  knows  not  the 
metes  and  bounds  of  political  geography,  has  indicated  prophetically  his  convic- 
tion that  America  is  to  exercise  a  wide  and  powerful  influence  in  the  intellectual 
world,  and  therefore  has  founded  in  this  city,  as  a  commanding  position  in  the 
field  of  science  and  literature,  and  has  placed  under  the  guardianship  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, an  institution  "  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men." 

With  each  succeeding  year  new  interest  is  added  to  the  spot.  It  becomes  con- 
nected with  all  the  historical  associations  of  our  country,  with  her  statesmen  and 
her  orators,  and,  alas!  its  cemetery  is  annually  enriched  with  the  ashes  of  her 
chosen  sons. 

Before  us  is  the  broad  and  beautiful  river,  separating  two  of  the  thirteen  origi- 
nal States,  and  which  a  late  President,  a  man  of  determined  purpose  and  inflexible 
will,  but  patriotic  heart,  desired  to  span  with  arches  of  ever-enduring  granite, 
svmbolical  of  the  firmly  cemented  union  of  the  North  and  the  South.  That 
President  was  General  Jackson. 

On  its  banks  repose  the  ashes  of  the  Father  of  his  Country,  and  at  one  side,  by 
a  singular  felicity  of  position,  overlooking  the  city  which  he  designed  and  which 
bears  his  name,  rises  to  his  memory  the  marble  column,  sublime  in  its  simple 
grandeur  and  fitly  intended  to  reach  a  loftier  height  than  any  similar  structure 
on  the  surface  of  the  whole  earth. 

Let  the  votive  offerings  of  his  grateful  countrymen  be  freely  contributed  to 
carry  higher  and  still  higher  this  monument.  Ma}-  I  say,  as  on  another  occasion, 
"  Let  it  rise;  let  it  rise  till  it  meet  the  sun  in  his  coming;  let  the  earliest  light 
of  the  morning  gild  it,  and  parting  day  linger  and  play  on  its  summit!" 

Fellow-citizens,  what  contemplations  are  awakened  in  our  minds  as  we  assemble 
here  to  reenact  a  scene  like  that  performed  by  Washington!  Methinks  I  see 
his  venerable  form  now  before  me  as  presented  in  the  glorious  statue  by  Houdon, 
now  in  the  capital  of  Virginia.  He  is  dignified  and  grave;  but  concern  and  anxiety 
seem  to  soften  the  lineaments  of  his  countenance.  The  Government  over  which  he 
presides  is  yet  in  the  crisis  of  experiment.  Not  free  from  troubles  at  home,  he 
sees  the  world  in  commotion  and  in  arms  all  around  him.  He  sees  that  imposing 
foreign  powers  are  half  disposed  to  try  the  strength  of  the  recently  established 
American  Government.  We  perceive  that  mighty  thoughts,  mingled  with  fears  as 
well  as  with  hopes,  are  struggling  within  him.  He  heads  a  short  procession  over 
these,  the  naked  fields;  he  crosses  yonder  stream  on  a  fallen  tree;  he  ascends  to 
the  top  of  this  eminence,  whose  original  oaks  of  the  forest  stand  as  thick  around 


Extension  Corner  Stone 


him  as  if  the  spot  had  heen  devoted  to  Druidical  worship,  and  here  he  performs 
the  appointed  duty  of  the  day. 

And  now,  fellow-citizens,  if  this  vision  were  8  reality;  if  WASHINGTON  were  now 
actually  among  us,  and  if  he  could  draw  around  him  the  shades  of  the  great 
public  men  of  his  own  days,  patriots  and  warriors,  orators  and  statesmen,  and 
were  to  address  us  in  their  presence,  would  he  not  say  to  us,  "Ye  men  of  this 
generation.  I  rejoice  and  thank  God  for  being  able  to  see  that  our  labors  and 
toils  and  sacrifices  were  not  in  vain.  You  are  prosperous,  you  are  happy,  you 
are  grateful.  The  fire  of  liberty  burns  brightly  and  steadily  in  your  hearts,  while 
DUTY  and  the  law  restrain  it  from  bursting  forth  in  wild  and  destructive  confla- 
gration. Cherish  liberty,  as  you  love  it;  cherish  its  securities,  as  you  wish  to 
preserve  it;  maintain  the  Constitution  which  we  labored  so  painfully  to  establish, 
and  which  has  been  to  you  such  a  source  of  inestimable  blessings;  preserve  the 
Union  of  the  States,  cemented  as  it  was  by  our  prayers,  our  tears,  and  our  blood; 
be  true  to  God,  to  your  country,  and  to  your  duty.  So  shall  the  whole  Eastern 
World  follow  the  morning  sun  to  contemplate  you  as  a  nation;  so  shall  all  suc- 
ceeding generations  honor  you  as  they  honored  us,  and  so  shall  that  Almighty 
Power,  which  so  graciously  protected  us  and  which  now  protects  you,  shower  its 
everlasting  blessings  upon  you  and  your  posterity." 

Great  father  of  your  country!  we  heed  your  words;  we  feel  their  force  as  if  you 
now  uttered  them  with  life  of  flesh  and  blood.  Your  example  teaches  us,  your 
public  life  teaches  us  your  sense  of  the  value  of  the  blessings  of  the  Union. 
Those  blessings  our  fathers  have  tasted,  and  we  have  tasted,  and  still  taste. 
Nor  do  we  intend  that  those  who  come  after  us  shall  be  denied  the  same  high 
fruition.  Our  honor  as  well  as  our  happiness  is  concerned.  We  can  not,  we  dare 
not,  we  will  not  betray  our  sacred  trust.  We  will  not  filch  from  posterity  the 
treasure  placed  in  our  hands  to  be  transmitted  to  other  generations.  The  bow 
that  gilds  the  cloud  in  the  heavens,  the  pillars  that  uphold  the  firmament,  may 
disappear  and  fall  away  in  the  hour  appointed  by  the  will  of  God,  but  until  that 
dav  comes  or  so  long  as  our  lives  may  last  no  ruthless  hand  shall  undermine 
that  bright  arch  of  Union  and  Liberty  which  spans  the  continent  from  Washington 
to  California. 

Fellow-citizens,  we  must  sometimes  be  tolerant  to  folly  and  patient  at  the  sight 
of  the  extreme  waywardness  of  men;  but  I  confess  that  when  I  reflect  on  the 
renown  of  our  past  history,  on  our  present  prosperity  and  greatness,  and  on  what 
the  future  hath  yet  to  unfold,  and  when  I  see  that  there  are  men  who  can  find 
in  all  this  nothing  good,  nothing  valuable,  nothing  truly  glorious,  I  feel  that  all 
their  reason  has  fled  from  them  and  left  the  entire  control  over  their  judgment 
and  their  actions  to  insane  folly  and  fanaticism,  and,  more  than  all,  fellow-citi- 
zens, if  the  purposes  of  fanatics  and  disunionists  should  be  accomplished,  the 
patriotic  and  intelligent  of  our  generation  would  seek  to  hide  themselves  from 
the  scorn  of  the  world  and  go  about  to  find  dishonorable  graves. 

Fellow-citizens,  take  courage ;  be  of  good  cheer.  We  shall  come  to  no  such 
ignoble  end.  We  shall  live  and  not  die.  During  the  period  allotted  to  our 
several  lives  we  shall  continue  to  rejoice  in  the  return  of  this  anniversary.  The 
ill-omened  sounds  of  fanaticism  will  be  hushed;  the  ghostly  specters  of  Secession 
and  Disunion  will  disappear,  and  the  enemies  of  united  constitutional  liberty,  if 
their  hatred  can  not  be  appeased,  may  prepare  to  sear  their  eyeballs  as  they  behold 
the  steady  flight  of  the  American"  Eagle  on  his  burnished  wings  for  years  and 
years  to  come. 

President  Fillmore,  it  is  your  singularly  good  fortune  to  perform  an  act  such 
as  that  which  the  earliest  of  your  predecessors  performed  fifty-eight  years  ago. 
You  stand  where  he  stood.  You  lay  your  hand  on  the  corner  stone  of  a  building 
designed  greatly  to  extend  that  whose  corner  stone  he  laid.    Changed,  changed 


152 


Capital  Centennial  Celebration 


is  everything  around.  The  same  sun,  indeed,  shone  upon  his  head  which  now 
shines  upon  yours.  The  same  hroad  river  rolled  at  his  feet  and  bathes  his  last 
resting  place  that  now  rolls  at  yours.  But  the  site  of  this  city  was  then  mainly 
an  open  field.  Streets  and  avenues  have  since  been  laid  out  and  completed, 
squares  and  public  grounds  inclosed  and  ornamented,  until  the  city  which  bears 
his  name,  although  comparatively  inconsiderate  in  numbers  and  wealth,  has 
become  quite  fit  to  be  the  seat  of  government  of  a  great  and  united  people. 

Sir,  may  the  consequences  of  the  duty  which  you  perform  so  auspiciously  to-day 
equal  those  which  flowed  from  his  act.  Nor  this  only;  may  the  principles  of 
your  administration  and  the  wisdom  of  your  political  conduct  be  such  as  that 
the  world  of  the  present  day  and  all  history  hereafter  may  be  at  no  loss  to 
perceive  what  example  you  have  made  your  study. 

Fellow-citizens,  I  now  bring  this  address  to  a  close  by  expressing  to  you,  in 
the  words  of  the  great  Roman  orator,  the  deepest  wish  of  my  jjfo/ 
heart,  and  which  I  know  deeply  penetrates  the  hearts  of  all  ^stftgfj^zSSz- 
who  hear  me:  "  Dim  modo,  hsec  opto;  unum,  uT  mor-  ..<z3e&&SsSSj^ 

IENS   POPUM7M    ROMANUM    UBERUM  REXINOUAM ; 


them,  or  toward  the  subjects  or  citizens  of  other  Governments,  or  toward  any 
member  of  the  great  family  of  man,  but  exulting,  nevertheless,  in  our  own 
peace,  security,  and  happiness,  in  the  grateful  recollection  of  the  past,  and  in  the 
glorious  hopes  of  the  future,  let  us  return  to  our  homes  and  with  all  humiliation 
and  devotion  offer  our  thanks  to  the  leather  of  all  our  mercies,  political,  social,  and 
religious. 

This  concluded  the  exercises  at  the  Capitol,  a  salute  of  artillery 
being  fired  from  the  battery  on  the  public  reservation  at  the  north 
end  of  the  Capitol,  and  the  civil  and  military  associations  returned 
in  excellent  order  to  their  respective  places  of  rendezvous,  where  they 
were  dismissed. 

The  celebration  of  the  day  closed  with  a  display  of  fireworks  from 
the  Mall  south  of  the  President's  house. 


O 


